David Marshall (Singaporean politician)

David Saul Marshall (né Mashal; 12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995) 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.
Marshall was born in Singapore on 12 March 1908, to Baghdadi Jewish parents Saul Nassim Mashal and Flora Ezekiel Kahn, who had immigrated to Singapore from Baghdad, which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire, where they ran a business. His family name was originally Mashal, which was later anglicised as Marshall in 1920. He had at least six siblings. Marshall received a strict Orthodox Jewish upbringing.
Marshall attended Saint Joseph's Institution, Saint Andrew's School and Raffles Institution. Marshall suffered from various illnesses as a teenager, such as malaria and tuberculosis. His initial goal of being a Queen's Scholar for a medical degree never came when he fell ill and collapsed before the final examinations. He then went to Belgium to study textile manufacturing. Upon his return, he joined the textile industry and later worked as a French language teacher and translator. He then decided to pursue a law career in London, graduating from the University of London.
Upon graduation, Marshall was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple in 1937 before returning to Singapore to commence a legal career.
In 1938, following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Marshall volunteered for military service with a British reserve unit, the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force. He was assigned to "B" Company, 1st Battalion (1SSVF)—a company composed mostly of continental European expatriates. He was detained briefly by military police after objecting to the fact that he and other volunteers classified as "Asian" were paid at half the rate collected by "European" members of the SSVF.
In February 1942, he saw action against the Imperial Japanese Army, in the Holland Road area, during the last few days of the Battle of Singapore. Marshall became a prisoner-of-war (POW) following the British surrender. He was initially interned in Changi Prison before being sent to a forced labour camp in Japan.
Reflecting later on his experience as a POW, Marshall commented:
Most of Marshall's immediate family had emigrated to Australia before the war began. After the war ended Marshall spent time with his family in Australia, before returning to Singapore in 1946.
He became a successful and prominent criminal lawyer. Known for his sharp eloquence and imposing stance, Marshall claimed that he had secured 99 acquittals out of 100 cases he defended for murder during Singapore's period of having trial by jury. When Lee Kuan Yew later abolished Singapore's jury system (1969), he cited Marshall's record as an illustration of its "inadequacy".
In April 1955, Marshall led the left-wing Labour Front to a narrow victory in Singapore's first Legislative Assembly elections. He formed a minority government and became Chief Minister. He resigned in April 1956 after a failed delegation to London to negotiate for complete self-rule.
After resigning, Marshall visited China for two months at the invitation of Zhou Enlai, the Chinese Premier. Contacted by a representative of a group of over 400 Russian Jews who were being refused exit from Shanghai by the Chinese authorities, Marshall spoke with Zhou and managed to have them released.
After returning from China, Marshall stayed on the backbenches before quitting the Labour Front and as a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1957. On 7 November 1957, he founded the Workers' Party of Singapore (WP), which has remained one of the major political parties in Singapore, just after the PAP.
Marshall lost his seat in Cairnhill Single Member Constituency to Lim Yew Hock, the Chief Minister, in the 1959 general election as a WP candidate, but won in Anson Single Member Constituency in the 1961 by-election. He resigned from the Workers' Party in January 1963 after a spat with some members of the party.
After losing his seat again in the 1963 general election as an independent candidate, he decided to return to practice law but would remain active in politics, offering his opinions and viewpoints.
From 1978 to 1993, at the invitation of Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam, Marshall served as Singapore's first ambassador to France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. As ambassador, Marshall always defended Singapore's interests, despite his differences with Lee Kuan Yew's government. He retired from the diplomatic corps in 1993 after 15 years of service.
While Marshall consistently praised Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP government for developing Singapore along with its economic prosperity, he also condemned the government for limiting freedom of speech and public freedoms. "We should keep in mind the horrors of [China's] Cultural Revolution, brought about by the cult of subservience to authority and primacy of society over the individual before we point the accusing finger at those who believe that respect for the individual is the basis of human civilisation", he said.
Marshall married Jean Mary Gray in 1961, an Englishwoman. Jean was born on 13 April 1926 in Kent, South East England, and came to Singapore in 1953 to take up a post with the Singapore Red Cross Society as a medical social worker. They had four children and six grandchildren. Marshall died in 1995 of lung cancer. He was 87.
Jean Marshall died in Singapore on 29 March 2021, at age 94.
He was recognised with the following honours:
Marshall has been considered by some Singaporeans as being one of the founding fathers of Singapore. A life-size cutout of him is present at the National Museum of Singapore's Singapore History Gallery, along with some of his favourite iconic smoking pipes that were donated to the museum by his wife which accompanied him wherever he went, as well as other items such as his campaign cards.
He is also well-regarded by lawyers in Singapore. In recognition of his impeccable service, he was appointed as an Honorary Member and Fellow of the Academy of Law in 1992 by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), and the David Marshall Professorship in Law was set up in 1995 by the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 2007, the Singapore Management University's School of Law (SMU Law) introduced the David Marshall Prize for the top student in criminal law. In 2017, the Yale-NUS College introduced the David Marshall Scholarship for double degree law students. There is also the David Marshall Scholarship by the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA), which are awarded to SOTA students who demonstrate artistic talents and excellent academic standing, as well as maintain excellent conduct and participate actively in school events.
Due to his love of art, Marshall had commissioned and gifted the Botanic Gardens with three bronze statues: Girl on a Swing (1984), Girl on a Bicycle (1987), and Lady on A Hammock (1989) by the British sculptor Sydney Harpley. Through these sculptures, he wanted to inspire the people of Singapore, to smile and feel the excitement and joy of living.
In 2011, the Marshall estate donated a bust of Marshall created by Hungarian sculptor Peter Lambda to the SMU Law's moot court, which is named after Marshall. His widow Jean expressed the hope that the tribute would inspire all law students at SMU to pursue the qualities of passion, diligence, courage and integrity that had distinguished her late husband's remarkable achievements.