He was ranked second in the order of precedence, superseding the incumbent Deputy Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Ong Teng Cheong.

[4] After the 2011 general election, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong left the Cabinet 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.

After this eight-year gap, Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam were appointed after they relinquished their positions as Deputy Prime Minister.

[6] On 8 June 2023, Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced his intention to run for the 2023 presidential election and his scheduled resignation on 7 July 2023 from all his positions in the government and as a member of the People's Action Party, as the presidency is a non-partisan office.