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Governor of Hong Kong
Flag of the Governor of Hong Kong, 1959–1997
Traditional Chinese	香港總督
Transliterations Cantonese - Jyutping heung1gong2jung2duk1

The Governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Monarchy by the order of the Privy Council, head of the Government of Hong Kong, ex-officio Commander-in-Chief and Vice-Admiral of Hong Kong during British rule between 1841 and 1997.

Upon the end of British rule and the transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997, this office was replaced by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

Contents 1 The Governor 1.1 Acting Governor/Administrator 2 Transport 3 Residences of the governors 4 List 5 Firsts 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] The Governor

The Governor's powers and duties were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions. The Governor, appointed by the British monarch (on the advice of the prime minister), maintained executive power in Hong Kong throughout British rule, and with the exception of a brief experiment after World War II, no serious attempt was made to introduce representative government, until the final years of British rule.

The Governor appointed most, if not all, of the members of the colony's legislature the Legislative Council (known colloquially as LegCo), which was largely an advisory body before election was introduced until the first indirect elections of LegCo in 1985, and all members of the Executive Council (ExCo), effectively the cabinet of the colonial government. Initially both Councils were dominated by British expatriates, although this gave way to more local Chinese Hong Konger appointees in later years. Most recent governors of Hong Kong were professional diplomats, save the last Governor, Chris Patten, who was a career politician. The governor is the president of the Executive Council, and until 1993, the Legislative Council.

At December 1996, The Governor's salary was HK$3,036,000 per annum, tax-free. It was fixed at 125% of the Chief Secretary's salary. ^[1]

[edit] Acting Governor/Administrator

In the absence of the Governor, the Chief Secretary was the acting Governor of the colony. Most were from the Colonial Office or British Army officers. One Royal Navy Vice Admiral has served as administrator after World War II. Four Japanese military officers (3 army officers and 1 naval vice admiral) served as administrator during World War II.

[edit] Transport

The Governor of Hong Kong used a Daimler DS420 for day to day transport and a Rolls-Royce Phantom V landaulette for ceremonial occasions. Both vehicles were removed by the Royal Navy immediately following the handover to China on 1 July 1997.

[edit] Residences of the governors

• The first governor, Sir Henry Pottinger, resided in the Former French Mission Building from 1843 to 1846. The building now houses the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. His successor, John Francis Davis, also lived there for a while, before moving to Caine Road.
• From the 4th governor, (Sir John Bowring), until the last one, (Chris Patten), governors resided at Government House.

[edit] List

Hong Kong had 28 governors, and 9 administrators:

Term	from	to	Governor	Administrator
	January 1841	August 1841		Captain Charles Elliot RN(義律)
	August 1841	June 1843		Sir Henry Pottinger (砵甸乍)
1	June 1843	May 1844	Sir Henry Pottinger (砵甸乍)
2	May 1844	March 1848	Sir John Francis Davis (戴維斯 or 爹核士)
	March 1848	March 1848		Major-General William Staveley BA (士他花利)
3	March 1848	April 1854	Sir George Bonham (文咸 or 般咸)
4	April 1854	May 1859	Sir John Bowring (寶寧)
	May 1859	September 1859		William Caine (堅)
5	September 1859	March 1865	Sir Hercules Robinson (夏喬士·羅便臣), later Lord Rosmead
	March 1865	March 1866		William T. Mercer (孖沙)
6	March 1866	April 1872	Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell (麥當奴)
	April 1872	April 1872		Henry Wase Whitfield (威菲)
7	April 1872	March 1876	Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy (堅尼地)
	March 1876	April 1877		John Gardiner Austin (柯士甸)
8	April 1877	March 1882	Sir John Pope Hennessy (軒尼詩)
	March 1882	March 1882		Malcolm Struan Tonnochy (杜老誌)
	March 1882	March 1883		Sir William H. Marsh (馬殊 or 馬師)
9	March 1883	December 1885	Sir George Ferguson Bowen (寶雲)
	December 1885	April 1887		Sir William H. Marsh (馬殊)
	April 1887	October 1887		Major-General William Gordon Cameron (金馬倫)
10	October 1887	May 1891	Sir George William Des Vœux (德輔)
	May 1891	December 1891		Major-General Digby Barker (伯加)
11	December 1891	January 1898	Sir William Robinson (威廉·羅便臣)
	February 1898	November 1898		Major-General Wilsone Black
12	November 1898	July 1903	Sir Henry Arthur Blake (卜力)
	November 1903	July 1904		Sir Francis Henry May (梅含理)
13	July 1904	April 1907	Sir Matthew Nathan (彌敦)
	April 1907	July 1907		Sir Francis Henry May (梅含理)
14	July 1907	March 1912	Sir Frederick Lugard (盧押), later Lord Lugard
	March 1912	July 1912		Claud Severn (施勳)
15	July 1912	September 1918	Sir Francis Henry May (梅含理)
	September 1918	September 1919		Claud Severn (施勳)
16	September 1919	October 1925	Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs (司徒拔)
	March 1925	November 1925		Claud Severn (史雲)
17	November 1925	February 1930	Sir Cecil Clementi (金文泰)
	February 1930	March 1930		Wilfrid Southorn (修頓)
18	May 1930	May 1935	Sir William Peel (貝璐)
	May 1935	September 1935		Wilfrid Southorn (修頓)
	September 1935	November 1935		Norman Smith (斯密夫)
	November 1935	December 1935		Wilfrid Southorn (修頓)
19	December 1935	April 1937	Sir Andrew Caldecott (郝德傑)
	April 1937	October 1937		Norman Smith (斯密夫)
20	November 1937	September 1941	Sir Geoffrey Northcote (羅富國)
	6 September1941	10 September1941		Norman Smith (斯密夫)
21	September 1941	Dec 1941	Sir Mark Aitchison Young (楊慕琦)
interrupted by Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong
	December 1941	February 1942		Lieutenant General Takashi Sakai (酒井隆) and Vice Admiral Masaichi Niimi (新見政一)
	February 1942	December 1944	Lieutenant-General Rensuke Isogai (磯谷廉介)
	February 1945	August 1945	Lieutenant-General Hisaichi Tanaka (田中久一)
interrupted by Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong
	August 1945	September 1945		Provisional Government ruled by Sir Franklin Charles Gimson (詹遜)
	September 1945	April 1946		Military Government ruled by Rear Admiral Sir Cecil Halliday Jepson Harcourt (夏愨)
21	May 1946	May 1947	Sir Mark Aitchison Young (楊慕琦)
22	July 1947	December 1957	Sir Alexander Grantham (葛量洪)
	December 1957	January 1958		Edgeworth Beresford David (戴維)
23	January 1958	March 1964	Sir Robert Brown Black (柏立基)
	March 1964	April 1964		Edmund Brinsley Teesdale (戴斯德)
24	April 1964	October 1971	Sir David Clive Crosbie Trench (戴麟趾)
	October 1971	November 1971		Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker (羅樂民)
25	November 1971	April 1982	Sir Murray MacLehose (麥理浩), later Lord MacLehose of Beoch
	April 1982	May 1982		Sir Philip Haddon-Cave (夏鼎基)
26	May 1982	December 1986	Sir Edward Youde (尤德) (died in office)
	December 1986	April 1987		Sir David Akers-Jones (鍾逸傑) (Acting Governor)
27	April 1987	July 1992	Sir David Wilson (衛奕信), later Lord Wilson of Tillyorn
	July 1992	July 1992		Sir David Robert Ford (霍德)
28	July 1992	June 1997	The Rt. Hon. Christopher Francis Patten (彭定康), later Baron Patten of Barnes

[edit] Firsts

• Charles Elliot - first military administrator to serve as Governor
• Henry Eldred Curwen Pottinger - first Governor of Hong Kong
• John Francis Davis - first Sinologist to serve as Governor
• John Bowring - first Puritan to serve as Governor
• John Pope Hennessy - first Irishman to serve as Governor
• Matthew Nathan - first Jew to serve as Governor
• Cecil Clementi - first Indian born and Cantonese speaking to serve as Governor
• Mark Aitchison Young - first prisoner of war to serve as Governor
• Takashi Sakai - first Japanese administrator to serve as Governor
• Edward Youde - first Governor fluent in Mandarin; first and only Governor to die in office
• Chris Patten - first non diplomat to serve as Governor and first Governor not to don the formal dress as Governor

[edit] See also

• History of Hong Kong
• Chief Executive of Hong Kong

[edit] References

Hong Kong Governors

[edit] External links

• Places named after British monarchs, members of the Royal Family and colonial officials in Hong Kong
• Photos of all Hong Kong Governors