CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Balaji Sadasivan

Singaporean politician and neurosurgeon (1955-2010)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ4849852
Source-derived summary

Balaji Sadasivan (11 July 1955 – 27 September 2010) was a Singaporean politician and neurosurgeon. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Minister of State for the Ministry of the Environment (2001–2003), Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport (2001–2004); and subsequently Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Health (2004–2006), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006–2010) and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (2004–2008). He was also a Member of Parliament representing the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency from 2001 to 2010.

Balaji was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) and a Fellow of Harvard University. He worked as a neurosurgeon until 2001, publishing over 50 book chapters and journal articles. In 2007, he was appointed chairman of the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 2008, Balaji was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and underwent surgical removal of a malignant tumour. Following a relapse of his cancer, Balaji died in his sleep on 27 September 2010 at the age of 55 years, having suffered internal bleeding the previous night.

Early years and education

Balaji was born on 11 July 1955 in Singapore, the son of Indian immigrants. He studied at Raffles Institution, Siglap Secondary School (1969–1971) and National Junior College (1972–1973), he subsequently studied medicine at the University of Singapore.

Editorial summary

“Balaji Sadasivan” enters the record as singaporean politician and neurosurgeon (1955-2010). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Balaji, Sadasivan and Singaporean can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1955, 2010, 2001, 2003—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1955-07-11. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Balaji, Sadasivan and Singaporean.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Balaji Sadasivan” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Balaji, Sadasivan and Singaporean provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4849852. VIAF identifies the subject as 177722838. The Library of Congress control number is no2011126742. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955, 2010, 2001 and 2003.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Balaji Sadasivan”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Balaji Sadasivan primary sources, Balaji Sadasivan archive and Balaji research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Balaji Sadasivan”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Balaji Sadasivan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.