David Neo

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.

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 Minister	Lawrence Wong
Preceded by	Edwin Tong
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Tampines GRC
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 May 2025
Preceded by	PAP held
Majority	6,392 (4.65%)
Personal details
Born	(1977-09-17) 17 September 1977 (age 48) Singapore
Political 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

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]

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)^[15]
• Gold Cross of Honour of the German Armed Forces
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Thailand (2024)^[16]

Notes

1. Chinese: 梁振伟; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Niô͘ Chín-uí