SINGAPORE, April 24 — Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat is stepping away from politics, closing a significant chapter in Singapore’s leadership story.

Heng, 64, was not listed in any constituency on Nomination Day, April 23, confirming he will not stand in the 2025 General Election.

“I believe now is the right time to make way for a new team of capable individuals who are well placed to serve Singapore,” he said in a Facebook post.

The former finance minister was known for steering Singapore through the Covid-19 pandemic and for launching five national budgets in 2020 alone to protect jobs and support businesses.

Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong will now take the helm in East Coast GRC, where Heng previously served as anchor minister, The Straits Times reported today.

First elected in 2011 in Tampines GRC, Heng was part of the fourth-generation leadership and once seen as a potential successor to the prime minister.

As education minister, he pushed the slogan “Every school a good school”, and later led massive fiscal efforts to keep the economy afloat during global and local crises.

Heng said his decision to enter politics came after conversations with leaders who “convinced me that there were changes I could effect as a politician that I could not as a civil servant”.

He survived a stroke in 2016 and continued to serve in key positions, including as chairman of the Future Economy Council and National Research Foundation.

In a tribute, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Heng’s contributions helped lay “strong and enduring foundations” for the country.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Heng had “natural empathy for others and exemplifies the spirit of public service.”

Heng is one of 20 People's Action Party (PAP) MPs retiring this election.

The others include Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Foreign Minister Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Minister Amy Khor, and Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How, alongside several long-serving and first-term MPs.

Their departures mark a major leadership renewal for the ruling party ahead of GE2025.