Singaporean politician, 12th and current Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heng Swee Keat PPA PJG (Chinese: 王瑞杰; pinyin: Wáng Ruìjié; born 15 April 1961)[1] is a Singaporean politician, former police officer and former civil servant.
Heng Swee Keat PPA PBS PJG | |
|---|---|
王瑞杰 | |
Heng in 2012 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Preceded by | Tharman Shanmugaratnam Teo Chee Hean |
| Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies | |
| Assumed office 27 July 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Preceded by | Tharman Shanmugaratnam |
| Chairman of the People's Action Party | |
| Assumed office 26 November 2022 | |
| Secretary-General | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Vice Chairman | Masagos Zulkifli |
| Preceded by | Gan Kim Yong |
| Minister for Finance | |
| In office 1 October 2015 – 14 May 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Second Minister | Lawrence Wong Indranee Rajah |
| Preceded by | Tharman Shanmugaratnam |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence Wong |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 21 May 2011 – 30 September 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong |
| Preceded by | Ng Eng Hen |
| Succeeded by | Ng Chee Meng (Schools) Ong Ye Kung (Higher Education and Skills) |
| Member of the Singapore Parliament for East Coast GRC (Bedok) | |
| Assumed office 10 July 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Lim Swee Say |
| Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tampines GRC (Tampines Central) | |
| In office 7 May 2011 – 23 June 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Sin Boon Ann |
| Succeeded by | Koh Poh Koon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Heng Swee Keat 15 April 1961[1] State of Singapore |
| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Spouse(s) |
Chang Hwee Nee (m. 1988) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge (MA) Harvard University (MPA) |
| Signature |  |
| Police career | |
| Department | Singapore Police Force |
| Years of service | 1983–1997 |
| Rank | Assistant Commissioner |
He is serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies. Also, he is the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok part of the East Coast GRC.[2]
Heng studied at Raffles Institution.[1] He received a scholarship from the Singapore Police Force in 1980.[3][4] That allowed him to study economics at Christ College, University of Cambridge in 1983. He also completed a Master's in Public Administration at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 1993.[1][5]
After Heng completed his economics studies, he worked in the Singapore Police Force. He left in 1997 as an Assistant Commissioner of Police.[6][7]
After working in the police, he worked in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.[8]
Heng joined politics in the 2011 general election as part of the People's Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Tampines GRC. PAP's team won with 57.22% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party. Heng became a Member of Parliament for the Tampines Central part of Tampines GRC.[9]
On 18 May 2011, Heng was made part of the Cabinet as Minister for Education.[10][11]
During the 2015 general election, Heng led the PAP team contesting in Tampines GRC and won 72.06% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party.[12]
After the general election, on 1 October 2015, Heng stopped being Minister for Education and became Minister for Finance.[13][14]
On 1 May 2019, Heng was made Deputy Prime Minister.[15]
Before the 2020 general election, Heng announced that he would be contesting in East Coast GRC.[16]
On 10 July 2020, the PAP team led by Heng contesting in East Coast GRC won 53.41% of the vote against the Workers' Party,[17]. Heng was made Member of Parliament for the Bedok part of East Coast GRC.[18]
On 27 July 2020, Heng took up another Cabinet job as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.[19]
After the 2020 general election, Heng was most likely the next prime minister.[20] However, he decided not to become the next Prime Minister on 8 April 2021. He said it was because he was old and not that healthy anymore.[21][22][23]
Following a Cabinet reshuffle on 15 May 2021, Heng stopped being Minister of Finance.[24]
Heng was born in Singapore as a Chinese. He is of Teochew descent.[25]
Heng is married to Chang Hwee Nee, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Heritage Board. They have two children.[26][27][28]
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