Sir Kenneth Fung Ping-fan,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

, LLD, DSocSc, JP (; 28 May 1911 – 16 May 2002) was a prominent Hong Kong politician and businessman.

Biography

Fung was born on 28 May 1911 to Fung Ping-shan, a co-founder of the

Bank of East Asia The Bank of East Asia Limited, often abbreviated to BEA, is a Hong Kong public banking and financial services company headquartered in Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong. It is currently the largest independent local Hong Kong bank, and o ...

, with his twin brother Fung Ping-wah. He graduated from School of Chinese Studies at 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 1931. He took up his family business after his father's death in 1931, becoming the general manager and the director of his family business, the Bank of East Asia. At 28 Fung also established the Fung Ping Fan Group, which in 1975 bought a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

franchise and introduced the fast-food chain to what was then the British colony of Hong Kong. He co-founded the

Ocean Park Hong Kong Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known simply as Ocean Park, is an animal theme park in Hong Kong. Covering an area of in Wong Chuk Hang, it is the largest theme park by area in Hong Kong, and is also the city's second oldest theme park, after ...

and was a founding chairman of the park. From 1951 to 1960 he was the appointed unofficial member of the

Urban Council of Hong Kong The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

. He was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

in 1959, in which he served until 1965. From 1962 to 1972 he was the unofficial member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the Cabinet (government), cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the c ...

. For his public services in Hong Kong, Fung was knighted in 1971. Fung was the founder and president of Hong Kong's World Wide Fund for Nature and was district governor of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

. He was among the first members of the Photographic Society of Hong Kong when it was formed in 1937. He was involved closely in the work of the Scout movement and of the Y.M.C.A. He is a past commissioner of the

St. John Ambulance Brigade St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primarily staffed by volunte ...

and was the first chairman of the

Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

Scheme in Hong Kong. He became a member of the Court of the

in 1948. In 1969 he was given an honorary degree of doctor of social sciences. In 1973 he received the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award. Fung died on 16 May 2002 at the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, aged 92. He married Ivy Kan Shiu-han and was survived by his four sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fung, Kenneth Ping-fan 1911 births 2002 deaths Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Alumni of St. John's Hall, University of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong Hong Kong bankers Bank of East Asia Knights of the Order of St John Officers of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor 20th-century Hong Kong philanthropists 20th-century Hong Kong businesspeople Businesspeople awarded knighthoods