David Marshall (Singaporean politician)

David Marshall
1st Chief Minister of Singapore
In office 6 April 1955 – 7 June 1956
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	John Fearns Nicoll Robert Black William Goode
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Lim Yew Hock
Chairman of the Workers' Party
In office 3 November 1957 – 18 January 1963
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Chiang Seok Keong (acting)
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Anson
In office 15 July 1961 – 3 September 1963
Preceded by	Mohammed Baharuddin Ariff
Succeeded by	Govindaswamy Perumal
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Cairnhill
In office 2 April 1955 – 29 April 1957
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Soh Ghee Soon
Personal details
Born	David Saul Marshal 12 March 1908 Singapore, Straits Settlements
Died	12 December 1995(1995-12-12) (aged 87) Singapore
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Political party	Independent (1963–1995)
Other political affiliations	Labour Front (1954–1957) Worker's Party (1957–1963)
Spouse	Jean Mary Gray ​ (m. 1961)​
Children	4[1]
Parent(s)	Saul Nassim Marshall (father) Flora Ezekiel Marshall (mother)
Alma mater	University of London

David Saul Marshall (12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995), born David Saul Mashal, was a Singaporean barrister and statesman who served as the inaugural Chief Minister of Singapore from 1955 to 1956. He resigned after just over a year at the helm after his delegation to London regarding negotiations for complete home rule and eventual independence of Singapore was initially rejected by the British. However, Marshall was nevertheless instrumental in forging the idea of sovereignty as well as in subsequent negotiations that led to its eventual self-governance from the United Kingdom in 1959.

While Marshall had a privileged upbringing, he was a leftist nationalist who aspired self-determination of the former British Crown colony—having founded the Labour Front and the Workers' Party. From 1963 onward, Marshall would renounce partisan politics and become an independent politician for the rest of his life. Singapore would eventually gain its complete independence in 1965 as a sovereign country – his foremost political goal coming into fruition.

In 1978, Marshall became a diplomat and was Singapore's inaugural ambassador to various countries, including France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. During this time, Marshall defended Singapore's interests abroad, despite his old political opponent and fellow barrister Lee Kuan Yew, under his People's Action Party, concurrently in government with Lee as prime minister. Nevertheless, he publicly maintained constructive criticism of some domestic policies that he had disagreed with. Marshall retired in 1993, and died two years later in 1995, at the age of 87.