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The Honourable
Heng Chee How
The Honourable Heng Chee How
王志豪
	Heng in 2020
Senior Minister of State for Defence
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 May 2018 Serving with Zaqy Mohamad (2020–present)
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong; Lawrence Wong
Minister	Ng Eng Hen
Preceded by	Ong Ye Kung
Deputy Secretary-General of the; National Trades Union Congress
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 January 1999
Secretary-General	Lim Boon Heng; Lim Swee Say; Chan Chun Sing; Ng Chee Meng
Mayor of Central Singapore District
	In office; 24 November 2001 – 29 May 2006
Prime Minister	Goh Chok Tong; Lee Hsien Loong
Preceded by	Yaacob Ibrahim
Succeeded by	Zainudin Nordin
Prime Minister
Ministerial offices
Senior Minister of State in the; Prime Minister's Office
	In office; 21 May 2011 – 30 April 2018
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office
	In office; 1 April 2008 – 20 May 2011
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister of State for Health
	In office; 30 May 2006 – 31 March 2008
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Khaw Boon Wan
Minister of State for National Development
	In office; 1 May 2005 – 29 May 2006
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Mah Bow Tan
Minister of State for Trade and Industry
	In office; 12 August 2004 – 30 September 2005
Prime Minister	Lee Hsien Loong
Minister	Lim Hng Kiang
Preceded by
Parliamentary offices
Deputy Leader of the House
	In office; 31 May 2011 – 30 September 2015
Preceded by	Ng Eng Hen
Succeeded by	Desmond Lee
Member of Parliament; for Jalan Besar GRC; (Whampoa)
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 11 September 2015
Preceded by	Constituency established
Majority	30,370 (30.72%)
	In office; 3 November 2001 – April 2011
Preceded by	Choo Wee Khiang (PAP)
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament; for Whampoa SMC
	In office; 7 May 2011 – 18 April 2015
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	14 July 1961 (age 63); Colony of Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse	Goh Soon Poh
Children	1
Alma mater	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (MA); Harvard University (MPA)
Occupation	Politician; trade unionist; police officer;
	Police career
Department	Singapore Police Force
Service years	1983–1995
Rank	Superintendent

Heng Chee How (Chinese: 王志豪; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hêng Chì-hâu; pinyin: Wáng Zhìháo; born 14 July 1961)^[1]^[2] is a Singaporean politician, union leader and former police officer who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for Defence since 2018 and Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trade Union Congress since 1999. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Whampoa division of Jalan Besar GRC since 2001.

Prior to entering politics, Heng had worked at the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

He made his political debut in the 1997 general election as a solo PAP candidate contesting in Hougang SMC against the Workers' Party's Low Thia Khiang. He lost to Low, who won 58.02% of the vote against his 41.98%.

During the 2001 general election, Heng joined the five-member PAP team contesting in Jalan Besar GRC and won with 74.48% of the vote. Heng was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the Whampoa ward of Jalan Besar GRC. Since then, he had retained his parliamentary seat in subsequent elections and had served as Minister of State and later Senior Minister of State in various ministries. He also served as Deputy Leader of the House in Parliament between 2011 and 2015.

Early life and education

Born in a Chinese Singaporean of Teochew descent family, Heng was educated at Raffles Institution before graduating from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge at the University of Cambridge in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts with second upper class honours (later replaced by an Oxbridge Master of Arts) degree in economics under an undergraduate scholarship conferred by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in 1980.

He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1992 under a postgraduate scholarship conferred by the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

Heng was also awarded the Edward S. Mason Fellowship in 1990, Lucius Littauer Fellowship Award from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1992 and Eisenhower Fellowship in 2001.^[1]^[3]

Career

Heng started his career in 1983 in the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and held command and staff appointments, including Director of Manpower and Commander of the Geylang Police Division.^[3]

He attained the rank Superintendent and left the SPF in 1995 to join the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and took up various positions in the labour movement, including Chief Executive Officer of the NTUC Club (1995–1998),^[3] Executive Secretary of the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees Union, Executive Secretary of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries, and Divisional Director overseeing industrial relations, skills development, productivity improvement and employment assistance.

He became Assistant Secretary-General of the NTUC in 1997. In 1999, he was promoted to Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC has held that position since then.^[3]

Political career

Heng made his political debut in the 1997 general election when he contested as a solo candidate from the People's Action Party (PAP) in Hougang SMC against the incumbent opposition Member of Parliament, Low Thia Khiang of the Workers' Party. He lost to Low, who won 58.02% of the vote against his 41.98%.^[4]

In the 2001 general election, Heng contested again as a PAP candidate, this time in Jalan Besar GRC, as part of a five-member PAP team. The PAP team won with 74.48% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance^[5] and Heng was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the Whampoa ward of Jalan Besar GRC. He served as Mayor of the Central District between 2001 and 2006.^[3]^[1]

On 12 August 2004, Heng was appointed Minister of State for Trade and Industry. On 1 May 2005, he was reappointed as Minister of State for National Development.

In the 2006 general election, Heng contested in Jalan Besar GRC again as part of a five-member PAP team and they won with 69.26% of the vote against the Singapore Democratic Alliance.^[6] After the election, Heng was appointed Minister of State for Health on 30 May 2006. On 1 April 2008, he became a Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.

During the 2011 general election, Heng contested as a solo PAP candidate in the newly formed Whampoa SMC and won with 66.1% of the vote against the National Solidarity Party's Ken Sun.^[7] On 21 May 2011, he was promoted to Senior Minister of State and continued serving in the Prime Minister's Office. On 31 May 2011, he also became Deputy Leader of the House in Parliament.

In the 2015 general election, Whampoa SMC was dissolved and became part of Jalan Besar GRC again. Heng contested in the election as part of a four-member PAP team in Jalan Besar GRC and won with 67.75% of the vote. Heng continued to be the Member of Parliament representing the Whampoa ward of Jalan Besar GRC after the election. On 1 May 2018, Heng was appointed as Senior Minister of State for Defence^[8] and has been holding that appointment since then after being elected again in the 2020 general election with 65.36% of the vote in Jalan Besar GRC.

Personal life

Heng is married to Goh Soon Poh, who is currently serving as Auditor-General of Singapore.^[9] She previously served as Deputy Secretary (Corporate) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). They have one daughter.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "MP | Parliament of Singapore".
^ ^a ^b "Parliament of Singapore : MP Heng Chee How's CV". Parliament of Singapore. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "MINDEF Singapore".
^ "ELD | 1997 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
^ "ELD | 2001 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
^ "ELD | 2006 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
^ "ELD | 2011 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
^ "MP | Parliament Of Singapore". www.parliament.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
^ Lim, Janice (28 February 2019). "Auditor-general is wife of political office-holder, but there's no conflict of interest: Chan Chun Sing". TODAYonline. Retrieved 5 August 2020.

External links

Heng Chee How on Parliament of Singapore

Parliament of Singapore
Preceded by Choo Wee Khiang	Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC (Whampoa) 2001 – 2011	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Whampoa SMC 2011 – 2015	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC (Whampoa) 2015 – present	Incumbent
Government offices
Preceded by Yaacob Ibrahim	Mayor of Central Singapore district 2001 – 2006	Succeeded by Zainudin Nordin