Taken from :
http://undertheangsanatree.blogspot.sg/2013/07/haze-minister-rises-from-ashes.html
Vivian was a President’s Scholar and, prior to politics, he was active in a variety of involvements ranging from debates, hosting the televised Singapore 21 series to becoming the presenter of health education programmes in the 90s. He was a vocal critic of the PAP government prior to joining politics but was actually “converted” by Minister Lim Swee Say. Thus, Vivian holds Lim Swee Say is very high esteem and respect in all matters.
Dr Vivian probably has one of the most portfolios in the history of Singapore Government
Once upon a time, Vivian Balakrishnan was among a group of PAP candidates which was termed the “super-seven” by the local mainstream media. In the 2001 General Elections, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had introduce the seven - Khaw Boon Wan, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Raymond Lim and Cedric Foo.
Immediately after that elections, Vivian Balakrishnan, who was said to be a critic of the government before he joined the ruling party, was made Minister of State for National Development in 2002.
Following this, he was given numerous positions in the next few years........