Sir Robert Hormus Kotewall (; 1880–1949) was a

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

businessman, civil servant and

legislator A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nat ...

Early life

Kotewall was born in 1880. He was the son of Hormusjee Rustomjee Kotewall, an Indian Parsi, and Cheung A-cheung. He obtained his early education at the

Diocesan Boys School The Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) is a day and boarding Anglican boys' school in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon. The school's mission is "to provide a liberal education based on Christian principles". Having run as ...

and Queen's College.

Career

In 1913, Kotewall was named Clerk to the Magistracy and JP. By 1919, he was in trade as the manager of the Hong Kong Mercantile Company. In 1923, he was invited to join 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 ...

as an unofficial member, a position he held until 1935. In 1936, he joined the Executive Council. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Kotewall served as the chairman of the Japanese military government's Chinese Representative Council and assisted the Japanese Army in governing Hong Kong. After Sir Mark Young was restored as the governor of Hong Kong, Kotewall submitted a 66-page report explaining the causes and consequences of his actions as a Chinese representative during the Japanese occupation period, but it was not accepted by the British government. Although he was not prosecuted for treason, he was still blacklisted by the Hong Kong government and for the rest of his life would never again be appointed to official positions. At the same time, he was also listed as one of the traitors sought by the Guangdong government of the Republic of China, so he rarely subsequently participated in public life. Kotewall died in 1949. He was decorated the insignia C.M.G by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

in 1927.

Personal life

Kotewall's wife was Edith (nee Lowcock) Kotewall (b. 1889). She was the daughter of George Lowcock and granddaughter of Henry Lowcock, an English businessman in Hong Kong. They had 11 children. His great-grandson is actor

Max Minghella Max Giorgio Choa Minghella (born 16 September 1985) is a British actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''Syriana'' (2005), ''Art School Confidential'' (2006), '' Elvis and Anabelle'' (2007), ''The Social Network'' (2010), '' The Darkest ...

. His great-granddaughter is former Olympic swimmer Robyn Lamsam Convery, and his grandson is cricketer

Roy Lamsam John Patrick Roy Lamsam (born 15 May 1980) is a Hong Kong cricketer who has played 8 One Day Internationals and four ICC Trophy matches between 1997 and 2008. He is a specialist batsman who has batted between five and eight in the batting order ...

Legacy

Kotewall Road Kotewall Road () is a street in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, located between Po Shan Road and Robinson Road. It is a 400-metre-long two-way road located on hill slopes south of Sai Ying Pun. Name The road was named after Sir Rob ...

, in

Mid-Levels Mid-Levels () is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals. It has a population ...

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

, and Sir Robert Kotewall Hall in the campus of St Paul's Co-educational College, are named after him.

Gallery

Northcote Executive Council.jpg , Robert Kotewall (2nd right) as part of the administration of

Geoffry Northcote Sir Geoffry Alexander Stafford Northcote, KCMG KStJ (羅富國;9 February 1881 – 10 July 1948) was a British colonial administrator. Early life, education, and early colonial services career Northcote was the son of Reverend the Hon. Arthur ...

(centre) Robert_Kotewall_2.png , A portrait of Robert Kotewall on a newspaper in 1947 HKPL CWB 2 Sir Robert Kotewall.jpg , Statue of Robert Kotewall in

Hong Kong Central Library Hong Kong Central Library is the largest library in Hong Kong, flagship library of Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) and used as Hong Kong Public Library headquarters, functioning as the territory's National Library. It is located at the in ...

References

External links

R. H. Kotewall (Lo Kuk-wu) 羅旭龢
from ''Biographies of Prominent Chinese'' c.1925. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotewall, Robert Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong 1880 births 1949 deaths British collaborators with Imperial Japan Hong Kong collaborators with Imperial Japan Hong Kong people of Indian descent Hong Kong people of Parsi descent Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Bachelor People from British Hong Kong