Then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Chan Heng Chee meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen during Lee's visit to the U.S. in 2000.

Chan Heng Chee is Singapore's Ambassador to the United States. She received this appointment in July 1996. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2670x1970, 1015 KB)United States Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen (right) meets in his Pentagon office with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (center), of Singapore, and Singapores Ambassador to the U.S. Chan Heng Chee (left) on Feb. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2670x1970, 1015 KB)United States Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen (right) meets in his Pentagon office with Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (center), of Singapore, and Singapores Ambassador to the U.S. Chan Heng Chee (left) on Feb. ... The political office of Senior Minister in the political system of Singapore is taken by a Prime Minister when he retires from that office, but still has something to offer the government based on his long experience. ... Lee Kuan Yew (also spelt Lee Kwan-Yew) (born September 16, 1923) (Chinese: 李光耀; pinyin: ) was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. ... William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American Republican politician from Maine. ...

During her tenure as ambassador to the U.S., bilateral relationship improved tremendously. In May 2003, Singapore and U.S. signed the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA), the first FTA that U.S. entered into with an East Asian country. Both countries also enhanced their ties in areas of defence and security.

She was previously the Executive Director of the Singapore International Foundation and served as Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Chan was also the founding Director of the Institute of Policy Studies. She served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1989 to 1991 and was concurrently the High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico. The Institute of Policy Studies is a think tank founded in 1983 at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ...

She was a member of the International Advisory Board of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations and on the Council at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London and the International Council of the Asia Society in New York. She received her education at the University of Singapore and Cornell University. State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki (R) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is a think tank which describes itself as dedicated to increasing Americas understanding of the world and contributing ideas to U.S. foreign policy. ... The International Institute for Strategic Studies, founded 1958, is a British think tank providing information on international strategic issues for politicians and diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business, economists, the military, defence commentators, journalists, academics and the informed public. ... St. ... The National University of Singapores (Abbreviated NUS; Chinese: 新加坡国立大学; Abbreviated 国大) flagship Kent Ridge campus is located in the southwest of the Republic of Singapore at Kent Ridge, bounded by the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), Clementi Road, Buona Vista Road and Kent Ridge Park, with an area of approximately 1. ... For other uses of the name Cornell, see Cornell (disambiguation). ...

Chan has received a number of awards, including Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters in 1994 from the University of Newcastle, Australia and the University of Buckingham in 1998. See: University of Newcastle (NSW), a university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia University of Newcastle upon Tyne, a university in England. ... The University of Buckingham is the UKs first and only private university, founded as the University College of Buckingham in 1976, before becoming a university in 1983. ...

In 1998, she received the Inaugural International Woman of the Year Award from the Organization of Chinese American Women (OCAW), and Singapore’s first "Woman of the Year" award in 1991.

In August 2005, Chan received Singapore's Meritorious Service Medal, the highest National Day Award conferred.