David Saul Marshall (12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995), born David Saul Mashal, was a Singaporean lawyer and politician who served as

Chief Minister of Singapore The chief minister of Singapore was the head of government of the Colony of Singapore until its abolition on 3 June 1959. It was replaced by the office of Prime Minister. The chief minister was appointed by the governor of Singapore. The chief m ...

from 1955 until his resignation in 1956, after his delegation to London regarding the negotiation for complete

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

and eventual independence of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

failed. However, Marshall was instrumental in forging the idea as well as in subsequent negotiations that led to the eventual

self-governance of Singapore The self-governance of Singapore was carried out in several stages. Since the founding of Singapore in 1819, Singapore had been under the colonial rule of the United Kingdom. The first local elections on a limited scale for several positions ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Marshall was a leftist nationalist who aspired

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

of the former British Crown colony—having founded the Labour Front and the Workers' Party. Marshall would renounce partisan politics and become an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

politician from 1963 onward. Singapore would eventually gain its independence in 1965. In 1978, Marshall became a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

and was Singapore's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

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 Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

, under his

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

, concurrently in government. Nevertheless, he publicly maintained constructive criticism of some domestic policies that he had disagreed with. Marshall retired in 1993, and died two years later of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

in 1995, at the age of 87.

Early life and education

Marshall was born in Singapore on 12 March 1908, to

Sephardi Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

ish parents Saul Nassim Mashal and Flora Ezekiel Kahn, who had immigrated to Singapore from

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, which was then a part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, 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 Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

upbringing. Marshall attended Saint Joseph's Institution, Saint Andrew's School and

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

before graduating from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, where he read law.

Legal career and war service

Upon graduation, Marshall was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

from the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

in 1937 before returning to Singapore to commence a legal career. In 1938, following the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, Marshall volunteered for military service with a British reserve unit, the

Straits Settlements Volunteer Force The Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF) was a military reserve force in the Straits Settlements, while they were under British rule. While the majority of the personnel were from Singapore, some lived in other parts of the Settlements, ...

. He was assigned to "B" Company, 1st Battalion (1SSVF)—a company composed mostly of

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

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 received by "European" members of the SSVF. In February 1942, he saw action against the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

, in the Holland Road area, during the last few days of the Battle of Singapore. Marshall became a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

(POW) following the British surrender. He was initially interned in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside ...

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 A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

. When

later abolished Singapore's jury system (1969), he cited Marshall's record as an illustration of its "inadequacy".

Political career

In April 1955, Marshall led the left-wing Labour Front to a narrow victory in Singapore's first Legislative Assembly

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. 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 Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

, the Chinese Premier. Contacted by a representative of a group of over 400

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

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). 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 the party. After losing his seat again in the 1963 general election as an independent candidate, he returned to practice law and remained active in politics. Although Marshall consistently praised Lee Kuan Yew and

for their economic successes, he also condemned the repression of freedom of speech and public freedoms. "We should keep in mind the horrors of hina's

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, 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. From 1978 to 1993, Marshall served as Singapore's Ambassador to France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. As an ambassador, Marshall always defended Singapore's interests, despite his differences with

's government. He retired from the diplomatic corps in 1993.

Personal life

Marshall married Jean Mary Gray in 1961. Jean was born on 13 April 1926 in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

, she came to Malaya in 1953 to take up a post with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

as a medical social worker. They had four children and six grandchildren. Jean Marshall died in Singapore on 29 March 2021, two weeks before her 95th birthday.

Death

Marshall died in 1995 of

Legacy

In 2011, the Marshall estate donated a bust of Marshall created by Hungarian sculptor Peter Lambda to the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of 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.

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, David Saul 1908 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Singaporean lawyers Alumni of the University of London Ambassadors of Singapore to France Ambassadors of Singapore to Portugal Ambassadors of Singapore to Spain Ambassadors of Singapore to Switzerland Deaths from cancer in Singapore Deaths from lung cancer Jewish Singaporean politicians Jewish socialists Labour Front politicians Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Singapore Raffles Institution alumni Saint Andrew's School, Singapore alumni Singaporean Jews Singaporean people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians Malaysian people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Malaysian Jews Jewish prime ministers 20th-century Singaporean politicians Asian Sephardi Jews