David Neo

In this Chinese name, the family name is Neo.
The Honourable
David Neo
PJG PPA(E) PPA(G) PBS
梁振伟
Neo in 2025
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
Acting
Assumed office
23 May 2025
Prime MinisterLawrence Wong
Preceded byEdwin Tong
Member of the Singapore Parliament
for Tampines GRC
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 May 2025
Preceded byPAP held
Majority6,392 (4.65%)
Personal details
Born1977 or 1978 (age 47–48)
Singapore
Political partyPeople's Action Party
Children1
Alma materUniversity of Illinois (BEng, BA)
Stanford University (MS)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MBA)
OccupationPolitician
Military service
Allegiance Singapore
Branch/service Singapore Army
Years of service1996–2025[1]
RankMajor-General
CommandsChief of Army
Deputy Secretary (Technology)/Future Systems and Technology Architect
Director of Joint Operations
Head, Joint Plans and Transformation Department
Commander, 3rd Division
Commander, 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade
Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Singapore Guards
Company Commander, 5th Company, 1st Commando Battalion

David Neo Chin Wee PPA(G) PBS (Chinese: 梁振伟; pinyin: Liáng Zhènwěi; born 1977 or 1978)[2] is a Singaporean politician and retired major-general who served as Chief of Army between 2022 and 2025.[1] Prior to his appointment as Chief of Army, he was serving as Deputy Secretary (Technology) at the Ministry of Defence. Neo is the first Commando to serve as Chief of Army.

An elected Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tampines North division of Tampines GRC, Neo has been serving as acting minister for culture, community and youth, and senior minister of state for education since 23 May 2025.[2]

Early life

Neo was brought up by his uncle and aunt after his mother died when he was five.[3] He attended Victoria School and Victoria Junior College before graduating from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Engineering degree with honours in electrical engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction in economics.[4]

He subsequently went on to complete a Master of Business Administration degree in business administration, management and operations at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science degree in operations research at Stanford University under the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship conferred by the Public Service Commission, and the Singapore Armed Forces Postgraduate Scholarship in 2012.

He also attended the Indonesian Army Command and Staff College (SESKOAD) in 2007 and attained the Top Foreign Student – Best Thesis.

Career

Neo was the programme director of the Pioneer Generation Office and the founding group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care. He was also a member of the board of governors of Singapore Polytechnic from April 2015 to April 2018 and alternate director in advanced material engineering from June 2013 to June 2016.

Neo is a board member of Temasek Defense Systems Institute since March 2021 and a director in DSTA since April 2021.[5]

Military career

Neo enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1996 and served in the Singapore Army as a Commando officer.

Throughout his military career, he has held many appointments and roles, from command tours to staff appointments. The staff appointments include: Training Development Officer from April 2001 to December 2002; Staff Officer (Plans)/Joint Operations Department from November 2004 to August 2006; Chairman, SICUS Committee NDP 2008 from August 2007 to August 2008; Deputy Director (Planning)/Head of Strategic Plans from January 2010 to June 2012; Chairman, Show Committee NDP 2014; Head of Joint Plans and Transformation Department from October 2014 to July 2016; Director of Joint Operations from May 2019 to March 2021; and Deputy Secretary (Technology) in March 2021.

As Head of Joint Plans and Transformation Department and Director of Joint Operations, he had overseen the SAF's contributions to the national fight against COVID-19.[6]

His command appointments include: Company Commander, 5th Company, 1st Commando Battalion from May 2003 to November 2004; Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, Singapore Guards from January 2008 to December 2009; Commander, 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade from August 2013 to October 2014; Commander, 3rd Division from July 2018 to June 2019.

On 10 March 2022, he succeeded Goh Si Hou as the Chief of Army.[6] On 1 July, Neo was promoted to the rank of Major-General.[7]

Neo stepped down from his position of Chief of Army with Commander of 3rd Singapore Division, Cai Dexian, taking over on 21 March 2025,[8] sparking speculation that he would contest in the 2025 Singaporean general election.

Political career

On 12 April 2025, Neo was spotted with Minister Masagos Zulkifli in Tampines, with Masagos later confirming that Neo would be joining the People's Action Party's (PAP) team in the constituency.[9] Neo was later confirmed to be running as a PAP candidate in Tampines GRC in the 2025 general election.[10]

In Tampines GRC, Neo and his PAP team was challenged by the Workers' Party (WP), National Solidarity Party (NSP) and the People's Power Party (PPP) in a four way fight.[11] The PAP team won the contest with 52% of the votes, being its narrowest GRC victory in the election and the WP received about 48% of the votes.[12] Neo was elected as a Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC representing Tampines North.[13][14] Neo was subsequently appointed as acting minister for culture, community and youth, and senior minister of state for education since 23 May 2025.[2]

Controversies

During the Fullerton Rally on 28 April, Neo was criticized for his army-tone speech in which he said “It’s a great day to be at Fullerton” and hit back on criticism towards opposition parties which drew mockery and criticism among netizens.[15]

Personal life

Neo is married with a son.[10]

Awards and decorations

References

  1. ^ a b "Change in Chief of Army". 11 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Newcomers Jeffrey Siow, David Neo named acting ministers in Cabinet reshuffle". www.channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  3. ^ "PAP Tampines candidate David Neo shares about losing mother at 5 & why he likes to use 'It's a great day' on Instagram". mothership.sg. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  4. ^ "SPEECH DAY 2022 - CELEBRATING 146 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE" (PDF). Victoria School.
  5. ^ "Major-General David Neo". MINDEF. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b Auto, Hermes (11 February 2022). "Mindef deputy secretary David Neo to take over as Chief of Army on March 10: Mindef | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Officers, Military Experts, Warrant Officers and Defence Executive Officers Recognised at MINDEF/SAF Promotion Ceremonies 2022". MINDEF. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Change in Chief of Army". MINDEF. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  9. ^ "GE2025: Ex-army chief David Neo joins PAP's Tampines GRC team in run-up to election". The Straits Times. 12 April 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b "GE2025: Ex-army chief David Neo, academic Charlene Chen confirmed among PAP's Tampines GRC slate". The Straits Times. 16 April 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  11. ^ Wong, Pei Ting (23 February 2025). "GE2025: PAP looks set to face 4-way fight for Tampines GRC against WP, NSP, PPP". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  12. ^ Aqil Hamzah; Shermaine Ang; David Sun; Eddino Abdul Hadi (4 May 2025). "GE2025: PAP retains Tampines GRC in 4-way fight, wins Tampines Changkat SMC". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  13. ^ Tan, Kim (18 May 2025). "Tampines MP Baey Yam Keng breaks down during final KopiTalk before handing over ward to David Neo". MS News - Independent News For Singaporeans. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Baey Yam Keng to helm new Tampines Boulevard division; internal boundaries for East Coast changed". The Straits Times. 15 May 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  15. ^ Toh, Trixy (30 April 2025). "'He talking to voters or recruits?': Netizens criticise PAP newcomer David Neo for his army-like speech during Fullerton rally". MS News - Independent News For Singaporeans. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  16. ^ Media, Kompas Cyber (19 September 2023). "Jenderal Dudung Anugerahkan Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama ke Kepala Staf AD Singapura, Ini Alasannya". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  17. ^ พระบรมราชโองการ ประกาศ เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ให้แก่นายทหารต่างประเทศ [พลตรี เดวิด นิว (Major-General David Neo)] (PDF) (in Thai). Retrieved 14 October 2024.
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