He’s already been called Singapore’s next prime minister by foreign media since his appointment as first assistant secretary general of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in November 2018. 

The appointment makes the 58-year-old the highest-ranked member of the fourth-generation leadership in the PAP’s central executive committee. 

This is also the position that the incumbent PAP secretary general, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, occupied before he took over the reins.

And with Lee previously indicating that he would like to retire before he turns 70, which is in 2021, all signs indicate that Heng, who is currently Deputy Prime Minister, is his likely successor. 

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has also publicly shared on Facebook that “Swee Keat is the best person to move up to become DPM and take over as PM during the next term of government”.

Perhaps most telling of the impending change at the top for PAP is when Heng was the one who unveiled the first slate of the party’s new candidates on June 24 for the upcoming election.  

Thus while Lee is most definitely still leading the charge for this general election, it is just a matter of time, when the leadership position will be handed over to Heng. 

Here’s what else you need to know about the probable next leader of our Lion City:

1. First solo deputy prime minister since 1985

There have always been two DPMs in Singapore for the last 34 years. And this is a clear indication of the role that Heng is to take on next. 

2. Joined politics in 2011

He contested for the first time as a PAP candidate in Tampines GRC in 2011. He remains a Tampines GRC MP and oversees the Tampines central ward.

3. Has been Minister for Education and Finance, as well as managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore

He was appointed Minister for Education as a first-term MP immediately after the election. He is also Singapore’s eighth Finance Minister, a position that Lee previously held.

He’s also been principal private secretary to the late Lee Kuan Yew and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

4. Started his career as a police officer with a scholarship

He read economics at Cambridge University on a Singapore Police Force scholarship and was once commander of the Jurong Police Division. 

He also holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

5. Grew up in Redhill 

He termed it the part of Singapore with gangsters and shared that there were several hundred homes in his kampung. He also grew up with chickens and pigs at home, and though Teochew, speaks Hokkien more fluently.

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6. Married to the National Heritage Board chief executive

He and his wife, Chang Hwee Nee, 57, met while studying at Cambridge and were film buffs in their younger days. They have a daughter and a son in their 20s. They have publicly expressed their appreciation for one another on social media. 

7. Suffered a brain aneurysm in 2016

He shocked other ministers when he collapsed during a Cabinet meeting on May 12, 2016 and he remained in a coma for six days.

The first words he scribbled after waking up were, “Is there a Cabinet meeting today? Where are the papers?”

He recovered and was back to work in August the same year.

8. Plays the guitar 

Not too much is known about his guitar playing skills but it looks like it helped him bond with the youths at the RC Youth Chapter launch. 

ALSO READ: Cooking, playing the guitar: Politicians and their hidden talents you never knew

You can keep up to date with Heng Swee Keat and his latest activities on Facebook and Instagram.

kailun@asiaone.com

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