Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan was born on 25 January 1961 in Singapore to a Tamil father from Tamil Nadu, India, and a Chinese mother with ancestry from Fuqing, Fujian, China. He was educated at Anglo-Chinese School and National Junior College before receiving the President's Scholarship in 1980 to study medicine at the National University of Singapore. He served as President of the NUS Students' Union from 1981 to 1983 and Chairman from 1984 to 1985. He was recognized as a TOYP Singapore Honoree in 1985 for Uncategorised.

After graduating with a medical degree, Dr. Balakrishnan specialized in ophthalmology and worked at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London from 1993 to 1995, focusing on pediatric ophthalmology. Upon returning to Singapore, he became a consultant ophthalmologist at the Singapore National Eye Centre and National University Hospital, and was appointed Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at NUS in 1998. He became Medical Director of Singapore National Eye Centre in 1999 and Chief Executive Officer of Singapore General Hospital in 2000. He also served as Commanding Officer of the 2nd Combat Support Hospital of the Singapore Armed Forces from 1999 to 2002.

Dr. Balakrishnan entered politics in 2001 as a Member of Parliament for Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC. He has held various ministerial positions including Minister of State for National Development, Minister for Community Development Youth and Sports, Minister for Environment and Water Resources, and since 2015, Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is also Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative. Throughout his political career, he has been instrumental in establishing various national councils, overseeing major infrastructure projects including the Youth Olympic Games, and leading climate change negotiations that contributed to the Paris Agreement.