Heng Chee How ( zh, s=王志豪, p=Wáng Zhìháo, poj=Hêng Chì-hâu, first=poj; born 14 July 1961) is a Singaporean union leader and former police officer and politician who served as Senior Minister of State for Defence from 2018 to 2025 and Deputy Secretary-General of the

National Trade Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC leads the labour movement of Singapore, comprising 59 affilia ...

since 1999. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Whampoa division of

Jalan Besar GRC Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city suburbs along with the Central Area of Singapore. The Jalan Besar GRC is the electoral division representing the largest a ...

from 2001 to 2025. Prior to entering politics, Heng had worked at the

Singapore Police Force The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal Police, law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; hum ...

(SPF) and

National Trades Union Congress The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC) internationally, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC leads the labour movement of Singapore, comprising 59 affilia ...

(NTUC). He made his political debut in the 1997 general election as a solo PAP candidate contesting in

Hougang SMC The Hougang Single Member Constituency is a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore. The current Member of Parliament is Dennis Tan from the Workers' Party (WP). History The constituency was first for ...

against the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

Low Thia Khiang Low Thia Khiang (; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician and the secretary-general of the Workers' Party (WP) between 2001 and 2018. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC) betw ...

. 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

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. He retired in 2025.

Early life and education

Born in a

Chinese Singaporean Chinese Singaporeans, Singaporean Chinese or Sino-Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean resident population according to the official census, making them the large ...

of Teochew descent family, Heng was educated at

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

before graduating from

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1983 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with second upper class honours (later replaced by an Oxbridge

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

) degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

under an undergraduate scholarship conferred by the

(SPF) in 1980. He subsequently went on to complete a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

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.

Career

Heng started his career in 1983 in the

(SPF) and held command and staff appointments, including Director of Manpower and Commander of the Geylang Police Division. He attained the rank Superintendent and left the SPF in 1995 to join the

(NTUC) and took up various positions in the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

, including Chief Executive Officer of the NTUC Club (1995–1998), 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.

Political career

Heng made his political debut in the 1997 general election when he contested as a solo candidate from the

(PAP) in

against the incumbent opposition Member of Parliament,

of the

. He lost to Low, who won 58.02% of the vote against his 41.98%. In the 2001 general election, Heng contested again as a PAP candidate, this time in

, as part of a five-member PAP team. The PAP team won with 74.48% of the vote against the

Singapore Democratic Alliance The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) is a political coalition between the Singapore Malay National Organization (PKMS), and Singapore Justice Party (SJP). The SDA was formed in 2001 and initially consisted of four political parties, PKMS, S ...

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. On 12 August 2004, Heng was appointed

Minister of State for Trade and Industry The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation ...

. 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

. 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. 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 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. On 17 April 2025, PAP announced that Heng was replaced by

Shawn Loh Shawn Loh Shou-en ( Chinese: 罗守恩; pinyin: ''Luó Shǒu-ēn'') is a Singaporean politician, who was elected to the Parliament of Singapore in the 2025 general election. He represents the Jalan Besar GRC as a member of the People's Action ...

in the PAP team to contest Jalan Besar GRC for the 2025 general election.

Personal life

Heng is married to Goh Soon Poh, who is currently serving as Auditor-General of Singapore. She previously served as Deputy Secretary (Corporate) in the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

(MHA) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). They have one daughter.

References

External links

Heng Chee How
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heng, Chee How Singaporean people of Teochew descent Living people Harvard Kennedy School alumni Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge 1961 births People's Action Party politicians Singaporean Christians Singaporean trade unionists Mayors of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore