David Saul Marshall

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix =
name = David Saul Marshall
honorific-suffix =

---

order = 1st
office = Chief Minister of Singapore
term_start = April 6, 1955
term_end = June 7, 1956
governor=Sir John Fearns Nicoll (1952-1955) Sir William Goode (1955) Sir Robert Brown Black (1955-1957)
predecessor="Newly Created"
successor=Lim Yew Hock
birth_date = March 12, 1908
birth_place = Singapore
death_date = dda |1995|12|12|1908|3|12
death_place = Singapore
nationality = Singaporean
party = Workers' Party of Singapore (1959-1995)
alma_mater = University of London
profession = Politician and Diplomat
religion = Orthodox Jew

David Saul Marshall (March 12, 1908, Singapore – December 12, 1995, Singapore) was the leader of the Singapore Labour Front and became the first Chief Minister of Singapore in 1955.

Born into an Orthodox Jewish family of Iraqi ancestry in Singapore, he became interested in politics and the independence movement at an early age. He was called to the Bar in 1937 after graduating from the University of London and the Middle Temple in Britain. He would later become the most successful criminal lawyer in Singapore, with a reputation "Marshall never loses". Known for his sharp eloquence and imposing stances, he claimed that he had 99 acquittals out of 100 cases he defended for murder (during Singapore's period of using trial by jury). Ironically, in 1969 the leader of Singapore and political opponent Lee Kuan Yew abolished the jury system, using Marshall's reputation to illustrate its inadequacy.

In the Second World War, he joined the Singapore Volunteer Corps and was taken prisoner after the Fall of Singapore in 1942, working in coal mines of Hokkaidō, Japan before being released in 1945.

In Singapore's first Legislative Assembly election in April 1955, Marshall led the left-wing Labour Front to a narrow victory, and was able to form a minority government and become Chief Minister. He presided over a shaky government, receiving little cooperation from either the colonial authorities or the other local parties. In May 1955, the Hock Lee Bus Riots broke out, killing 4 people and seriously discrediting Marshall's government. In April 1956, he led a delegation to London to negotiate for complete self-rule, but the talks fell through due to British concerns about worker unrest and communist influence. After the failed meeting, Marshall resigned saying "I have failed in my Merdeka mission". Replacing him as Chief Minister was Lim Yew Hock, who would later take very tough action against the labour unions.

Marshall stayed on the backbenches, before quitting the ruling Labour Front party in 1957 and founding the Workers' Party of Singapore. He lost his seat in the 1959 general election, but was able to win a by-election in Anson in 1961. After losing his seat again in the 1963 elections, he returned to practise law but remained active in opposition politics until 1972, when J. B. Jeyaretnam became leader of the Workers' Party.

From 1978 to 1993, Marshall served as Singapore's Ambassador to France, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. As Singapore's ambassador, Marshall always defended his country's interests, despite his differences with Lee Kuan Yew's government. He retired from the diplomatic corps in 1993.

He died in 1995 as a result of lung cancer.

References

*Sim, Susan (Dec. 13, 1995). [http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/david.html "David Marshall"] . "Straits Times".

*Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore - History of Singapore, From Settlement to Nation. (December 2006)

(NOTE: David Marshall came from St. Joseph's Institution)

External links

* [http://thinkhappiness.blogspot.com/2006/08/meeting-david-marshall-in-1994.html Dharmendra Yadav interviews David Marshall]

succession box
before="Newly Created"
title=Chief Minister of Singapore
years=April 6, 1955 - June 7, 1956
after=Lim Yew Hock