தனபாலன்; born 8 August 1937),[3] also known as S. Dhanabalan, is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1980 and 1988.
He attended Victoria School before graduating from the University of Malaya with a Bachelor of Arts with second class honours degree in economics.
During the 1980 Singaporean general election's rallies, Dhanabalan disparaged opposition politician Chiam See Tong on his professional competence.
[4] When Lee Kuan Yew was preparing for his successor, he identified a handful of ministers he considered suitable for the job, including Tony Tan, Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Chok Tong and Dhanabalan.
In his public account of why he chose them and what he felt were their strengths and weaknesses, Lee said his preferred successor was Tony Tan, who went on to become the 7th President of the Republic of Singapore.