Bernadette Linn Hon Ho ( zh , t=甯漢豪, born 7 January 1964) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

government official, currently serving as

Secretary for Development The Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for planning, land development and public works related development policy in Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and orga ...

. After studying in

Marymount Secondary School Marymount Secondary School (Abbreviation: MSS; Chinese: 瑪利曼中學; Demonym: Marymountian) is an all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school located on Blue Pool Road in Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The medium of instructi ...

, Linn graduated from the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

in 1986 with

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

after studying

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, and a year later from

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

with

Master of Journalism A Master of Journalism (abbreviated M.J., M.S.J., M.M.J.C., M.A. in Journalism, or M.S. in Journalism) is a master's degree awarded to students who have studied journalism at a graduate level. Like other master's degree programs, master of journ ...

. Linn joined the civil service in January 1989 as an Administrative Officer. Having served in multiple departments and bureaux, she was promoted to Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury in 2008. In a 2009

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

committee meeting, Linn criticised

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

lawmaker

Leung Kwok-hung Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council, representing the New Territories East. A Trotskyist ...

for using unparliamentary language, which he declined to classify as, denouncing then

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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, occupyi ...

over inadequate measures on elderly welfare. Raising a point of order, Linn said, as a mother herself, the best test to define foul language "would be whether a parent would be prepared to teach his/her children to use the expression in daily conversations or writings". Her comments won appreciations from the officials, and was later promoted to Private Secretary to the Chief Executive in 2010. She was then appointed as Director of Lands in 2012, a position which she held for five years. In July 2017, she succeeded Michael Wong, who was appointed

, as Permanent Secretary for Development. Four years later, she again succeeded Wong to become the Secretary for Development. During her tenure, the construction of 12,000 public housing flats on century-old

Fanling Fanling ( zh, t=粉嶺; also spelled Fan Ling or Fan Leng) is a town in the New Territories East of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District. Fanling Town is the main settlement of the Fanling area. The name Fanling is ...

Golf Course stirred controversies in the city. Despite different parties, including

Hong Kong Golf Club The Hong Kong Golf Club is a private golf club. It is home to the Hong Kong Open, a tournament co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours. Founded in 1889 as the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club, the club originally played in Happy Valley, a l ...

, tournament organisers and even pro-government figures spoke out strongly against the plan, Linn said the government remained determined and vowed to deliver on the housing supply goal despite rezoning delay. In September 2023, after illegal unauthorized structures were discovered at luxury apartments, Linn said "nobody" was at fault.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linn, Bernadette Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Hong Kong women civil servants Government officials of Hong Kong University of Michigan alumni 1964 births Living people