The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

of the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

, acting as a formal body of advisers to the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...

that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is analogous to other Executive Councils in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

such as the Federal Executive Council of Australia, the

Executive Council of New Zealand The Executive Council of New Zealand ( mi, Te Komiti Matua o Aotearoa) is the full group of " responsible advisers" to the governor-general, who advise on state and constitutional affairs. All government ministers must be appointed as executive c ...

, and the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

. Under the presidency of the Chief Executive, the Executive Council consists of 21 Official Members (the most senior of these being the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, head of the Government Secretariat and chair of the Policy Committee), and 16 Non-official Members (also known as

ministers without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

who are normally leading legislators from pro-establishment political parties) headed by the Convenor of the Non-official Members. The Council normally meets once a week.

History

The Executive Council was set up by the British Hong Kong Government. The first ''ex officio'' members were the Colonial Secretary and the Colonial Treasurer in the 1840s. The

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

was added in the 1850s. In 1949, the Executive Council had five ''ex officio'' members: the senior military officer ( Commander of British Forces Overseas), the colonial secretary, the attorney general, the secretary for Chinese affairs and the financial secretary; the Commissioner of Labour, while an 'official' was not an ''ex officio'' member. In addition, there were six 'unofficial members': the chief manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the

Tai-Pan A tai-pan (,Andrew J. Moody, "Transmission Languages and Source Languages of Chinese Borrowings in English", ''American Speech'', Vol. 71, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 414-415. literally "top class"汉英词典 — ''A Chinese-English Dictionary' ...

of Jardine's, a solicitor, two

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

s, and a physician. In 1994 the title ' Senior Member' or 'Senior Unofficial Member' was changed to 'Convenor', when Lydia Dunn was succeeded in the post by

Rosanna Wong Dame Rosanna Wong Yick-ming (, born 15 August 1952) also known by her married name, Rosanna Tam Wong Yick-ming, in her former marriage from 1979 lasting until 1992, and primarily known as Dr Rosanna Wong in public occasions after 1997, is ...

. The format of the Executive Council was retained after the transfer of sovereignty in 1997 until a ministerial system (named

Principal Officials Accountability System Principal Officials Accountability System, commonly referred to as the Ministerial system (), sometimes the Accountability System, was introduced in Hong Kong by chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal ...

or POAS) was introduced in 2002,

Tung Chee Hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chin ...

's second term of office. Since then all secretaries are political appointees and have to leave the civil service. All secretaries are appointed to the council, transforming the council effectively into a cabinet. Non-official members are minorities in the council, and are like ministers-without-portfolio. The position of convenor was abolished. In fulfilling his election platform, Chief Executive

Sir Donald Tsang Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyin ...

appointed eight new non-official members the day after delivering his first

policy address Policy Address () is the annual address by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (Governor prior to the handover). The practice of giving annual policy address is mandated under Article 64 of the Basic Law, requiring the government to "present regu ...

on 12 October 2005. Secretaries of bureaux would sit in meetings of the Council when the agenda was related to their portfolio, and the position of convenor was restored. It was presented as a move to re-strengthen the role of the council as a link with the community.

Change in composition

Functions

The Executive Council is to advise the Chief Executive in policy-making and the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

of the government. The Chief Executive acting after consultation with the Executive Council is known as Chief Executive in Council. Under Article 54 of the Basic Law, the Chief Executive must consult the Executive Council before making important policy decisions, introducing bills to the Legislative Council, making delegated legislation, regulating certain public institutions, or dissolving LegCo. The Chief Executive in Council also hears appeals and objections under certain Ordinances. A Chief Executive rejecting a majority opinion of the Executive Council is required to put the specific reasons for the rejection on record.

Composition

The members of Executive Council are appointed by the Chief Executive from among principal officials (heads of department, informally called "ministers"), members of Legislative Council, and public figures. Their appointment and removal is decided by the Chief Executive. There is no fixed term of office, but the term of office of members cannot extend beyond the expiry of that of the Chief Executive who appoints them (Article 55 of the Basic Law). The council is presided over by the Chief Executive. In addition to the 21 principal officials there are 16 Non-official members. Other than the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Secretary for Justice, official members only sit in meetings that are related to their portfolio. In accordance with the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance, the members of the Executive Council should take the Oath of Fidelity after his/her appointment and promise not to reveal any matters being discussed in the council. The aim of this principle was to ensure that the members could speak freely without any fears and pressure, so as to facilitate the Chief Executive to receive prompt and objective advices in the policy making process. The following list includes all members of the Executive Council in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

: *Note: To avoid confusion, all the names on this list follow the Hong Kong convention (English name , family name, Chinese given name ) for consistency. SourceExecutive Council - Membership of Executive Council
1 July 2022

List of the past Executive Councils

* 1896–1941:

List of Executive Council of Hong Kong unofficial members 1896–1941 This is a list of unofficial members of the Executive Council in the colonial period from 1850 to 1941. The term of the Executive Council was interrupted during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong ...

* 1946–1997: List of Executive Council of Hong Kong unofficial members 1946–1997 * 1997–2002:

First term of Tung Chee-hwa as Chief Executive of Hong Kong First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

* 2002–2005: Second term of Tung Chee-hwa as Chief Executive of Hong Kong * 2005–2007:

First term of Donald Tsang as Chief Executive of Hong Kong The first term of Donald Tsang as chief executive of Hong Kong, officially considered part of " The 2nd term Chief Executive of Hong Kong", relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, between 25 ...

* 2007–2012:

Second term of Donald Tsang as Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Second term of Donald Tsang as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, officially referred to as "The 3rd term Chief Executive of Hong Kong" relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, between 1 July 2 ...

* 2012–2017:

CY Leung as Chief Executive of Hong Kong The administration of Leung Chun-ying as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, officially referred to as "The 4th term Chief Executive of Hong Kong" relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, between 1 ...

* 2017–2022:

Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong The administration of Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, or Lam administration, officially referred to as "The 5th term Chief Executive of Hong Kong" relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong headed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam ...

Location

The Executive Council meets in the Lower Block of the Central Government Complex, Tamar. Until 2012, ExCo met in the Main Wing of the Central Government Offices on Government Hill, in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and below Government House (former residence of the British

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kon ...

). Prior to the Handover, the Provisional Executive Council of Hong Kong, headed by

, met in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

or Tung's office on the 11th floor of the Asia Pacific Finance Tower in Hong Kong. Members of the outgoing British Hong Kong ExCo were not permitted to attend this body. Both Executive Council sittings were on Tuesdays.

References

External links

* {{Asia topic, Cabinet of, title=National cabinets of Asia Politics of Hong Kong Hong Kong Executive Council Lists of political office-holders in Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong