Cheong-Chua Koon Hean (; born 1957) is a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

and architect.

Biography

Cheong is a

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

scholar with a first class degree in architecture at Newcastle University in 1981. Cheong completed a master's degree in Urban Development Planning from the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, and did a six-week Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School. She received an honorary doctorate of architecture from the University of Newcastle in 2010. Cheong started working as a public servant in 1984. Cheong was the CEO of the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 April ...

(URA) between 2004 and 2010 where she was in charge of various areas, such as conservation of historic buildings and real estate. ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

'' wrote that her work as CEO of URA played "a key role in developing Singapore into a distinctive global city." She also was the first woman to head the URA. From 2010 to 2020, she had been the CEO of the

Housing and Development Board The Housing & Development Board (HDB) (; ms, Lembaga Perumahan dan Pembangunan; ta, வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) or often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the M ...

in Singapore. Cheong received a Gold

Public Administration medal The Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (English: Public Administration Medal) is a Singaporean orders and decorations, Singaporean decoration instituted in 1963 and has three grades: * Emas (Gold) * Perak (Silver) * Gangsa (Bronze) The medal may be awarded ...

in 2005 and a silver Public Administration medal in 1997. In 2010, Cheong was awarded the ''

Her World ''Her World'' is a monthly English-language magazine published in Singapore targeted at the female professionals reading market. It is also the first English-language women's magazine to be published in Malaysia and Singapore. History and profile ...

'' Woman of the Year award. In 2014, Cheong was inducted into the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheong, Koon Hean 1957 births Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent Alumni of University College London Singaporean architects Singaporean women architects University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni Singaporean urban planners Women chief executives Recipients of the Pingat Pentadbiran Awam