Senior Minister of Singapore is a position in the Cabinet of Singapore. Holders of this office have served as either the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

or the

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. Among the executive branch officeholders in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

, the position ranks after the prime minister and the deputy prime minister. They also serve as part of the Prime Minister's Office and work at The Istana.

Background

S. Rajaratnam Sinnathamby Rajaratnam ( ta, சின்னத்தம்பி ராஜரத்னம்; 25 February 1915 – 22 February 2006), better known as S. Rajaratnam, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapo ...

, Singapore's first Minister for Foreign Affairs, took on the newly-created role of Senior Minister in 1985 before retiring in 1988. Prior to that, he served as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

between 1980 and 1985. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, was appointed as Senior Minister in 1990, after being succeeded by Goh Chok Tong as prime minister. He was ranked second in the

, superseding the incumbent Deputy Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Ong Teng Cheong. Goh Chok Tong was appointed Senior Minister in 2004 after handing over the office of Prime Minister to Lee Hsien Loong. As Senior Minister, he was ranked second in the order of precedence, while Lee Kuan Yew, who was appointed as Minister Mentor, ranked third in the order of precedence. S. Jayakumar relinquished his role as Deputy Prime Minister in 2009 and was appointed as Senior Minister before retiring from politics in 2011. After the 2011 general election, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong left the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

but remained as Members of Parliament. Goh accepted an honorary title of Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM); Lee was also offered a similar title but he declined and continued to serve as a Member of Parliament until his death on 23 March 2015. Between 21 May 2011 and 1 May 2019, the office of Senior Minister was vacant. After this eight-year gap, two former Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam was appointed as Senior Ministers, after being succeeded by Heng Swee Keat as Deputy Prime Minister.

List of senior ministers

The Senior Minister is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent ministers are Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

References

{{Current Cabinet of Singapore 1985 establishments in Singapore Government ministers of Singapore zh:國務資政

Background

List of senior ministers

See also

References