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.

Singapore would eventually gain its complete independence in 1965 as a sovereign country – his foremost political goal coming into fruition.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

[23] 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.