 |
David Neo | |
|---|---|
梁振伟 | |
 Neo in 2025 | |
| Minister for Culture, Community and Youth | |
| Assumed office 23 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Lawrence Wong |
| Preceded by | Edwin Tong |
| Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tampines GRC | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | PAP held |
| Majority | 6,392 (4.65%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 September 1977 |
| Party | People's Action Party |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois (BEng, BA) Stanford University (MS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MBA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Singapore |
| Branch/service |  Singapore Army |
| Years of service | 1996–2025[1] |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Commands | Chief 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[a] PPA(G) PBS (born 17 September 1977)[2][3] is a Singaporean politician and retired major-general who has been serving as Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, as well as Senior Minister of State for Education since 2025. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tampines North division of Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) since 2025.
Neo served as Chief of Army between 2022 and 2025.[1] Prior to his appointment as Chief of Army, he served as Deputy Secretary for Technology at the Ministry of Defence. Neo is the first Commando to serve as Chief of Army.
Early life
Neo was brought up by his uncle and aunt after his mother died when he was five.[4] 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.[5]
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.[citation needed]
He also attended the Indonesian Army Command and Staff College (SESKOAD) in 2007 and attained the Top Foreign Student – Best Thesis.[citation needed]
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 has been a board member at Temasek Defense Systems Institute since March 2021 and a director at DSTA since April 2021.[6]
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.[7]
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, Neo succeeded Goh Si Hou as the Chief of Army.[7] On 1 July, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General.[8]
On 21 March 2025, Neo resigned his position of Chief of Army; he was replaced by Commander of 3rd Singapore Division Cai Dexian.[9]
Political career
On 12 April 2025, Neo was spotted in Tampines GRC with Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development. Masagos later said that Neo would be joining the PAP team for the constituency.[10] On 16 April, Neo was confirmed as part of the PAP team for Tampines GRC for the 2025 general election.[11]
On Election Day, the PAP team defeated the Workers' Party (WP), National Solidarity Party (NSP) and the People's Power Party (PPP) with 52.02% of the vote. The WP received 47.37% of the vote; the other two parties lost their election deposits of S$67,500 ($13,500 per candidate) for not winning at least 12.5% of the vote.[12]
After the election, Neo was internally assigned to the Tampines North division.[13][14] On 23 May, he was appointed Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Senior Minister of State for Education.[2]
Controversies
In November 2025, Neo drew fury for insulting and calling Hong Kongers idiots after he said that “all the [Hong Kong] fans were bloody idiots, and the players – they also played like idiots. But you all played like lions.” after Singapore won against Hong Kong in a 2-1 score in the Asian Cup qualifiers at Kai Tak Stadium on the 18th of November 2025.[15]
Personal life
Neo is married and has a son.[11]
Awards and decorations
Public Administration Medal, (Gold) (COVID-19)
Public Administration Medal, (Gold) (Military) - PPA(E)
Public Administration Medal, (Bronze) (Military) - PPA(G)
Long Service Medal (Military)- The COVID-19 Resilience Medal
Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal
Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal with 15 year clasp
Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal
Army Meritorious Service Star, 1st Class - Indonesia (2023)[16]
Gold Cross of Honour of the German Armed Forces
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Thailand (2024)[17]
_Ribbon.png){kind=small}
_(Tentera).png){kind=small}
_(Tentera).png){kind=small}
_ribbon_(from_2006).png){kind=small}
_Medal_ribbon.png){kind=small}
_Medal_ribbon_with_clasp.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.svg){kind=small}
Notes
- ^ Chinese: 梁振伟; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Niô͘ Chín-uí
References
- ^ a b "Change in Chief of Army". 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Newcomers Jeffrey Siow, David Neo named acting ministers in Cabinet reshuffle". www.channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
- ^ Ho, Jet (17 September 2022). "I am very honored to bump onto our SAF Chief of Army MG David Neo..." Instagram. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "SPEECH DAY 2022 - CELEBRATING 146 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE" (PDF). Victoria School.
- ^ "Major-General David Neo". MINDEF. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Change in Chief of Army". MINDEF. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Singapore minister apologises to Hong Kong government after 'idiots' insult". South China Morning Post. 22 November 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ พระบรมราชโองการ ประกาศ เรื่อง พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ให้แก่นายทหารต่างประเทศ [พลตรี เดวิด นิว (Major-General David Neo)] (PDF) (in Thai). Retrieved 14 October 2024.
External links
- Official profile
- David Neo on Prime Minister's Office
- David Neo on Parliament of Singapore
| Current members of the Cabinet of Singapore | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | |
| Deputy Prime Minister(s) | |
| Senior Minister(s) | |
| Cabinet Minister(s) |
|
Effective from 23 May 2025 | |
| Members of the 15th Parliament of Singapore (2025–present) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency/seat they represent. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: Workers' Party; The leaders of their respective GRCs are underlined. MP(s) who go on a leave of absence are italicised. NMPs do not belong to any party. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Living people
- 1977 births
- Singaporean military leaders
- Victoria School, Singapore alumni
- Victoria Junior College alumni
- Members of the Parliament of Singapore
- People's Action Party politicians
- Chiefs of the Singapore Army
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
- Stanford University alumni
- Recipients of the Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Tentera)
- Recipients of the Long Service Medal (Military) (Singapore)
- Singaporean people of Chinese descent
