The chief secretary for administration is the second-highest government official in Hong Kong, right after 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 ...

. When the chief executive is on leave, the chief secretary for administration will act on their behalf. The chief secretary for administration heads the

Government Secretariat The Government Secretariat () is the collective administrative headquarters of the Government of Hong Kong. It is collectively formed by the offices of the Chief Secretary and of the Financial Secretary as well as thirteen policy bureaux. The off ...

, which oversees the administration of the Region to which all other

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

belong. The chief secretary for administration reports to the chief executive and to the

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 ...

. Under Article 53 of the

Basic Law A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law designed to have the effect of a constitution. The term ''basic law'' is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution" and may be inte ...

, the position is known as "Administrative Secretary". The chief secretary formulates and implements government

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

, gives advice to the Chief Executive as a member of the Executive Council, and is responsible for managing the Government's relationship with the Legislative Council and drawing up the Government's legislative programme. The office (“Department of Administration” per Article 60 of the Basic Law) also exercises certain statutory functions, such as the handling of appeals from designated public bodies. Prior to the

transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

in 1997, the office was known simply as " Chief Secretary" (), and before 27 August 1976, "Colonial Secretary"(). Until the introduction of the

Principal Officials Accountability System In Hong Kong, the Principal Officials Accountability System ( zh, t=主要官員問責制, labels=no) was introduced by inaugural chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal officials, including the Chie ...

in 2002, the Chief Secretary was a

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

position, and in this capacity, the head of the public service. In 2005,

Henry Tang Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...

became the first person who has not been a civil servant to be appointed to the office of the chief secretary. From the 1870s to 1902 the colonial secretary was the ''de facto''

lieutenant governor of Hong Kong The Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong held the second-highest position during the British colonial rule in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1902. History Although Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong was the second-highest position in Ho ...

which was once held by the commander of British Forces in Hong Kong before 1870s when the post was not lapsed from power. After 1902 the title disappeared from use as the second highest post was transferred to the colonial secretary and later, chief secretary.

List of chief secretaries of Hong Kong

Colonial secretaries, 1843–1941

Colonial secretaries, 1946–1976

Chief secretaries, 1976–1997

Chief secretaries for administration, 1997–present

Political party:

Residence

The Chief Secretary resides at an official residence at 15 Barker Road, The Peak, Hong Kong, which is also known as Victoria House and Victoria Flats.

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

Official website
{{Chief Secretary for Administration Chief Secretary