Ronald James Blake, GBS, OBE, JP (, born 2 April 1934) is a civil engineer, and a former Secretary for Works in the government of colonial

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. He was appointed to the post of acting CEO of

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC; ) is a Hong Kong wholly government-owned railway and land asset manager. It was established in 1982 under the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance for the purposes of operating the Kowloon– ...

(KCRC) on 16 March 2006 to replace the outgoing Samuel Lai.

Early life

James Blake was born in the UK in 1934. He studied

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

part-time whilst working as a draftsman for an

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

firm after leaving school.

Career

While serving with the Royal Engineers in

Her Majesty's Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

he arrived in the Territory for the first time in 1958. He qualified as a

Chartered Engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thr ...

two years later. He settled in Hong Kong in 1965 and worked in various private companies, participating in the construction of the

Cross-Harbour Tunnel The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method. It is the earl ...

as well as the MTR amongst other projects. Prior to coming to the Territory, he had worked for Boulton and Paul in the UK. He had also worked for Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners in

, before being appointed as Secretary for Works.

Secretary for Works

He was appointed

Secretary for Works A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

by the Hong Kong Government in 1991, a post he held until 1995. He later joined the KCRC as its Senior Director of capital projects.

Professional achievements

* Awarded gold medal by the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1997 * President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers from 1991-1992 * Awarded the

Gold Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of ...

, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Ronald James 1934 births Living people British civil engineers Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Government officials of Hong Kong British emigrants to Hong Kong Officers of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong civil engineers Royal Engineers officers Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star