Senior Minister (abbreviation: SM) is a political office in the Cabinet of Singapore. The holder of this office is typically a former Prime Minister or former Deputy Minister. S Rajaratnam was one of the co-founders of the People’s Action Party. Upon Independence in 1965, he served as the country’s first Minister for Foreign Affairs before being appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 1980. He then took on the newly created role of Senior Minister in 1985, before his retirement in 1988.