Jack Cater
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Sir Jack Cater (; 21 February 1922 – 14 April 2006) was the chief secretary of Hong Kong from 1978 to 1981. Cater was the third chief secretary under the
Governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...
of
Sir Murray MacLehose Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, ( zh, t=麥理浩; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and colonial official who served as the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the lo ...
, later Lord MacLehose of Beoch. He was the founding commissioner of the
Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC; Chinese: zh, , t=廉政公署, labels=no) is the statutory independent anti-corruption body of Hong Kong with the primary objective of combating corruption in both the public and private sec ...
.


Biography


Career

Cater served in
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
fighter squadrons during the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Cater arrived in Hong Kong to work with the British military jurisdiction after the
Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...
. Cater began his career of civil service in 1946 as a
cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...
officer in the Fisheries Department, and was made Director of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1964. In 1966 Cater attended the
Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...
in London. He was appointed by then Governor
David Trench Sir David Clive Crosbie Trench (; 2 June 1915 – 4 December 1988) was a British Army officer and colonial governor who served as the Governor of Hong Kong from April 15, 1964 to October 19, 1971 and was High Commissioner for the Western Pacif ...
to lead the team that restored peace and security following the riots in 1967. He became
Defence Secretary A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
and Special Assistant to Governor David Trench during the civil unrest in 1967, and subsequently served as Deputy Colonial Secretary (1967–68), executive director of the newly established
Trade Development Council The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 for international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 51 offices around the world, including 1 ...
(1968–70), Director of Commerce and Industry (1970–72), Secretary for Information (1972-73) and the
Secretary for Home Affairs The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs is the head of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for local issues, and the provision of community and youth services. List of office holders Regist ...
in 1973. Cater was instrumental in establishing schools in all of Hong Kong's fishing villages. In February 1974, he was delighted to accept appointment to the first Commissionership of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) by
Murray MacLehose Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, ( zh, t=麥理浩; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and colonial official who served as the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the lo ...
following the flight of Police Superintendent Peter Godber, who was under investigation at the time regarding several million pounds stashed in Vancouver banks. His widow later revealed that Cater considered at one point leaving the government. She said: Cater was widely respected and much liked in Hong Kong for the way in which he brought the fledgling ICAC to the point where it became strong enough to survive the attacks of vested interests, and of its many enemies both within and without the government. As a result of Cater's vital early direction, the ICAC was able to grow into a body which presided over the (almost total) eradication of
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
, both official (Governmental) and elsewhere, in Hong Kong. He was knighted in 1979. From 1981 to 1984, Cater became Hong Kong's Commissioner in London. Afterwards, he joined China Light & Power Co., and became the head of Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Co, a nuclear power station venture at Daya Bay in Guangdong province. He was also a consultant to
Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California in 1898, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia in the Washington metropolitan area. , the '' E ...
, a US engineering contractor, and
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
. In 1995, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Laws) by the
University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...
.


Personal

Sir Jack was born on 21 February 1922, son of a London policeman. He studied in
Sir George Monoux Grammar School ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...
,
Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...
. Sir Jack was married to Peggy in 1950. The couple lived most of their life together in Hong Kong, until the late 1990s. They had three children, Susan, Jacqueline, and Richard. Sir Jack and Lady Cater returned to Britain, and settled on
Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
in the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
in 2001. Cater suffered from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
during the final few years of his life. He died in Guernsey on 14 April 2006, aged 84. A memorial was held for him in Hong Kong at the St. John's Cathedral on 21 October 2006, attended by many senior officials and prominent figures, ''inter alia'' Hong Kong Chief Executive
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 ...
,
Run Run Shaw Sir Run Run Shaw (born Shao Renleng; 19 November 1907 – 7 January 2014), also known as Shao Yifu and Siu Yat-fu, was a Hong Kong businessman, filmmaker, and philanthropist. He was one of the foremost influential movie moguls in the East As ...
,
David Akers-Jones Sir David Akers-Jones (; 14 April 1927 – 30 September 2019) was a British colonial administrator. He was the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong from 1985 to 1987, and was briefly acting Governor of Hong Kong after the untimely death of Sir Edwa ...
, former Secretary for Security
Alistair Asprey Wing Commander Alistair Peter Asprey (, born 11 June 1944) is a former Hong Kong government official who served as Secretary for Security from 1990 to 1995. Early life Asprey was born and grew up in Jamaica where his father, Scottish professo ...
, as well as Raymond Wong and
Lily Yam Lily Yam Kwan Pui-ying (; ' Kwan; born 6 July 1946) is a former top Hong Kong civil servant. Biography Lily Kwan was born in Hong Kong in 1947, the fourth of six children. She attended Sacred Heart Canossian College until 1964, and later gr ...
, respectively the then current Commissioner and a former Commissioner of the ICAC.


In popular culture

In the 2021 Hong Kong film '' Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong'', Sir Jack Cater was portrayed by Michael Joseph Rosenthal.


See also

*
History of Hong Kong The region of Hong Kong has been inhabited since the Paleolithic, Old Stone Age, later becoming part of the Chinese Empire with its loose incorporation into the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Starting out as a Walled villages of Hong Kong, farming ...


References

* ''South China Morning Post'', 22 October 2006 "In memory of HK's 'knight in shining armour' " (Page 3) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cater, Jack Chief secretaries of Hong Kong Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force squadron leaders 1922 births 2006 deaths Military personnel from London Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British expatriates in Hong Kong