Goh also advocated for the Edusave Awards, a monetary reward for students who did well in school based on either their academic achievements or character to enshrine meritocracy.

[7] Goh's dream of getting a PhD was disrupted as the government would not transfer his bursary bond to the university, where he had signed on as a research fellow after graduation.

In 2015, Goh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by his alma mater, the National University of Singapore, for his contributions to the country.

The new PAP candidate was Pang Kim Hin, who had difficulties connecting to the electorate as he had a reputation of being a "rich man's son", as the nephew of Old Guard minister Lim Kan San.

In 1985, Goh became deputy prime minister and began to assume the responsibility of the government in a carefully managed leadership transition.

However, Goh was selected by the second generation of PAP leaders that included Tony Tan and Ong Teng Cheong; Lee accepted their decision.

The 1991 general elections, the first electoral test for Goh, led to the party winning 61% of the popular vote, the all-time low for PAP since independence.

Because of the drop in share of the popular vote, and losing an unprecedented four seats in Parliament to the opposition, Goh had to quell rumours about his potential resignation to the international news media.

In 1992, Lee handed over the post of secretary-general of the People's Action Party (PAP) to Goh, successfully completing the leadership transition.

[1] Goh's deputy prime ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Ong Teng Cheong were both diagnosed with cancer in 1992, prompting the prime minister to call a by-election in his own constituency of Marine Parade in 1992, just over a year after the 1991 elections, citing the need for 'political self-renewal' and to get 'ministerial calibre' people to join the government.

The PAP retained Marine Parade GRC with 72.9% of the popular vote, allowing Goh to continue on as prime minister, eventually for the next decade.

This greater openness extended also to the socio-economic spheres of life, for instance, in his support for the rise of "little bohemias" in Singapore, enclaves where more creativity and entrepreneurship could thrive.

In September 1998, Goh had a meeting with Clinton in the White House and agreed to contribute to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization which helped build strong ties between the two Koreas.

Goh subsequently visited other Middle Eastern countries as Senior Minister, with a view to improving diplomatic relationships and thus gaining wider opportunities for Singaporean businesses, especially in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.

[20] In the 2006 general election, Goh was tasked to help the PAP win back the two opposition wards of Hougang and Potong Pasir.

[18] In 2008, Goh was invited to join the InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government, an independent international organisation of former world leaders.

Over the following months, he progressively released snippets prior to the election on the importance of grooming a successor who could be part of the fourth generation PAP leadership to helm Marine Parade GRC in the long run.

After the 2011 general election in which the opposition made unprecedented gains by winning a group representative constituency in (Aljunied), Goh and Lee Kuan Yew announced that they were retiring from the Cabinet in order to give Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the rest of his team a clean slate from which they can make a fresh start in the new parliamentary term.

[29][30] A second volume of his biography titled Standing Tall: The Goh Chok Tong Years was released in April 2021 to mark his 80th birthday.

[34] In December 2020, Goh stated in a Facebook post that he would be undergoing four weeks of radiotherapy following the removal of a lump in his larynx, in order to ensure that all cancer cells are eliminated.

[36] In 2021, now retired and talking about his health, Goh indicated that he plans to try to live until at least 93 years of age, much like his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad.