Heng Swee Keat appeared ‘very tired’ at Cabinet meeting before he collapsed

SINGAPORE — When Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat turned up at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon, at least one of his colleagues noticed that he appeared "very tired".

“I could see that he was very tired. I have been telling him that he was overworking so much that it will affect his health,” Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam recounted in a Facebook post hours later.

At about 5.34pm, Mr Heng collapsed suddenly. Three Cabinet ministers who were doctors successfully resuscitated the 54-year-old before an ambulance took him to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment. A CT scan found that he had suffered a stroke.

Many politicians from the People’s Action Party and the Opposition, as well as members of the public, have taken to social media to wish Mr Heng a speedy recovery. East Coast GRC MP Lee Yi Shyan, who suffered from a mini-stroke last year, wrote that Mr Heng had advised him “to go slow and doing ‘less is more’.”.

The outpouring of concern for Mr Heng on Thursday night also shed light on his work ethic and the high regard many held for him. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam described Mr Heng, widely seen as a possible future Prime Minister, as “one of Singapore’s finest sons, and a leader with much promise”.

Mr Shanmugam added: “He was carrying an incredible load, handling the Finance Ministry, various important projects , including SG 50 (celebrations), and the Committee for Future Economy – this Committee has the crucial task of charting our economic future.”

As of late Thursday night, no further update on Mr Heng’s condition was available. A former top civil servant, Mr Heng has overseen several important national initiatives since he entered politics in 2011.

Here’s a quick look at his career milestones.

1997 - 2001: Principal Private Secretary to founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew

2001 - 2005: Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry

2005 - 2011: Managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

2011: Elected into Parliament as part of the PAP’s Tampines GRC team

2011: Appointed Education Minister

2012: Led the Our Singapore Conversation project which reached out to over 47,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life, via more than 660 dialogue sessions.

2015: Chaired the SG50 Steering Committee to celebrate Singapore’s 50th year of independence.

2015: Appointed Finance Minister

2016: Appointed chairman of the Committee on the Future Economy, which has been tasked to develop economic strategies to position Singapore well for the future.

2016: Presented his first Budget