Ho Ching is a Singaporean businesswoman renowned for her leadership in sovereign wealth management and engineering. Born on 27 March 1953 in Singapore, she was a top student at National Junior College, named Student of the Year, and attended the University of Singapore (now National University of Singapore) as a President's Scholar, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical Engineering, First Class Honours). She furthered her studies at Stanford University, earning a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1982. Her career began in 1976 as an engineer at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), where she advanced to Director of the Defence Materiel Organisation in 1983 and concurrently Deputy Director of the Defence Science Organisation. In 1987, she joined the Singapore Technologies group as Deputy Director of Engineering, rising to President and CEO from 1997 to 2001, during which she orchestrated the formation and listing of Singapore Technologies Engineering as Asia's largest listed defence engineering company and served as its first Chairman. In May 2002, Ho Ching joined Temasek Holdings as Executive Director and was appointed CEO in January 2004 by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, a position she held until October 2021, overseeing its evolution into a global long-term investor and serving as a key figure in Singapore's sovereign wealth management and global investment strategy. She transitioned to Chairman of Temasek Trust from April 2022 and holds roles such as patron of the Autism Association of Singapore and advisor to the Autism Resource Centre. She has received the Singapore Public Administration Medal (Silver, 1985), Public Service Star (1996), and honors like Distinguished Engineering Alumnus of NUS and Fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore. She is the spouse of former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Controversies include allegations of nepotism due to her family connections to Singapore's political leadership, criticism of Temasek's investment performance and accountability, and public backlash over her political commentary on social media, such as defending ministers' associations.