Marshall, David (1908-1995), a lawyer and politician, served as Singapore’s first local chief minister in 1955 and 1956. His skills as a public speaker attracted a large following and enabled him to publicize such popular issues as local languages, education, and citizenship for Singapore residents who were not born in Singapore. He also took a strong anticolonial position. Marshall founded and led the Labour Front, a moderate socialist party, which won the most seats in the Singapore Legislative Assembly in 1955.
In 1956, Marshall led a deputation to London to ask the British government for full internal self-government for Singapore. He failed to achieve independence on his terms and he resigned soon afterward. He continued to be an outspoken political commentator. In 1978, he became Singapore’s ambassador to France.
David Saul Marshall was born on March 12, 1908, in Singapore. He entered St. Andrew’s School in 1919 and in 1923 joined Raffles Institution. In 1934, he went to study law at London University. He returned to Singapore in 1937 and worked as a lawyer before entering politics. Marshall died on Dec. 12, 1995.
