The title "Senior Minister" was also a title used in Canada, before "Deputy Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada is an honorary position in the cabinet, conferred at the discretion of the prime minister. There is currently, , no deputy prime minister....

" was introduced in 1977.

Senior Minister is a political office in the political system of

Politics of Singapore

The politics of Singapore takes the form of a parliamentary republic whereby the President of Singapore is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Singapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Cabinet has the general direction and...

 Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 taken by a prime minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 or senior cabinet minister when he or she retires from that office, but still has something to offer the government based on his or her long experience. This, however, implies a reliance on a dominant-party system

Dominant-party system

A dominant-party system, or one-party dominant system, is a system where there is "a category of parties/political organizations that have successively won election victories and whose future defeat cannot be envisaged or is unlikely for the foreseeable future." A wide range of parties have been...

, and several opposition critics find this as evidence for contempt for the political opposition in Singapore.

The current Senior Ministers of Singapore are Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...

, the second Prime Minister of Singapore

Prime Minister of Singapore

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...

 and S Jayakumar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. This office has been held by Goh since August 12, 2004, and was formerly held by Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

, the first Prime Minister of Singapore

Prime Minister of Singapore

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...

, from November 28, 1990, through August 12, 2004. Upon the appointment of Goh Chok Tong as Senior Minister, a new ministerial role in the form of Minister Mentor was created and assigned to Lee Kuan Yew. On 26 March 2009, Prime Minister of Singapore

Prime Minister of Singapore

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...

 Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong

Lee Hsien Loong is the third and current Prime Minister of Singapore. He is married to Ho Ching, who is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings. He is the eldest son of Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew....

 announced that the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore S Jayakumar would relinquish his post as the DPM and be appointed Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.

In General Elections 2011, S Jayakumar did not stand for re-election and thus retired from public service. On 14th May 2011, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong

Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...

 and Minister Mentor

Minister Mentor

Minister Mentor is a Singapore cabinet position created in 2004 as part of a leadership transition.The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong , announced Lee Kuan Yew's new title together with the naming of his Cabinet on August 12, 2004...

 Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

 announced their retirement from the cabinet after a watershed General Elections 2011.

List of Senior Ministers of Singapore

Senior Minister	Start of Term	End of Term
S. Rajaratnam Sinnathamby Rajaratnam Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, better known as "S. Rajaratnam", , was a Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1980–85, and a long-serving Minister and member of the Cabinet from 1959-88. He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of independent Singapore as it achieved self-government in 1959 and...	1985	1988
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...	28 November 1990	12 August 2004
Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...	12 August 2004	21 May 2011
S Jayakumar	1 April 2009	21 May 2011