Heng Swee Keat
 | |
| Heng Swee Keat 王瑞杰 | |
|---|---|
| Party Affiliation | |
| Current Role | • Deputy PM • MP of East Coast GRC |
| Past Roles | • Minister for Finance • Minister for Education • Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies |
| Others | • Pending • |
| Background | |
| Education | • Pending • • • |
| Personal Details | |
| Age | Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{". |
| Others | Born 15 April 1961 |
Heng Swee Keat is a senior Singaporean politician from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). He has been serving as the Deputy Prime Minister since 2019.
Early life and education
Born in a Chinese Singaporean family of Teochew descent, Heng received education at Raffles Institution. He graduated from Christ's College at the University of Cambridge in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts with honours (later promoted to Master of Arts by seniority) degree in economics. His studies were supported by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) scholarship in 1980.
He returned to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and assumed multiple roles, including a five-year stint in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), before leaving in 1997 with the rank of Assistant Commissioner. He also completed a nine-month Command and Staff Course conducted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
Civil Service Career
Heng started his career in the Singapore Administrative Service in 1997, initially working at the Ministry of Education (MOE). Later that year, he became Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In 2001, Heng was later appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
From June 1, 2005, to April 2, 2011, he was a Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). In recognition of his leadership, he was inaugurated Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year by The Banker in February 2011.
Political Career
Heng began his political career in the 2011 general election as part of the five-member PAP team representing Tampines GRC. The team secured 57.22% of the vote, and Heng was elected as an MP for Tampines Central. On May 18, 2011, he became Minister for Education despite being a first-time MP. He later led a review of government policies in 2012.
In the 2015 election, Heng and his team won 72.06% of the vote. He then was appointed Minister for Finance. In 2018, he announced a planned GST hike and assisted the Prime Minister with the National Research Foundation. He became Deputy Prime Minister in May 2019 despite suffering a stroke during the parliamentary meeting in 2016.
In the 2020 general election, Heng represented East Coast GRC and secured 53.41% of the vote. He faced numerous controversies during the campaign, including comments about minority race leadership and unprepared speech. However, he stayed in the cabinet and managed to help the country deal with the COVID-19 pandemic with financial aid.
On April 8, 2021, Heng stepped down from the leadership race due to age and health issues. His decision affected the PAP’s performance in East Coast GRC. He also quit as Finance Minister in May 2021 but remained a member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore board. Heng continues supporting innovation and deep tech, particularly in AI, and is still involved in Singapore’s startup ecosystem.
In May 2024, Heng handed over his role as Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies but remained Deputy Prime Minister.
Heng spoke at the WELT Economic Summit in Berlin, Germany on 27 January 2025, making him the first leader from the Asia-Pacific region to speak at the forum.
Personal Life
Heng is married to Chang Hwee Nee, the chief executive officer of the National Heritage Board. The couple has two children.