The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

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 ...

from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions. Upon the end of British rule and the

handover of 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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1997, most of the civil functions of this office went to 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 ...

, and military functions went to the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

Hong Kong Garrison.

The governor

Authorities and duties of the governor were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions in 1843. The governor, appointed by the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British con ...

(on the advice of the Foreign Secretary), exercised the executive branch of the

government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

throughout British sovereignty and, with the exception of a brief experiment after

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 ...

, no serious attempt was made to introduce representative government, until the final years of British rule. The governor of Hong Kong chaired the colonial cabinet, the Executive Council (ExCo), and, until 1993, was also the president of 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 ...

. The governor appointed most, if not all, of the members of the colony's legislature (known colloquially as LegCo), which was largely an advisory body until the first indirect election to LegCo was held in 1985. Initially, both councils were dominated by British expatriates, but this progressively gave way to local Hong Kong Chinese appointees in later years. Historically, the governors of Hong Kong were either professional diplomats or senior colonial officials, except for the last governor,

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...

, who was a career politician. In December 1996, the governor's salary was HK$3,036,000 per annum, tax-free. It was fixed at 125% of the chief secretary's salary.House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 17 Dec 1996 (pt 3)
In the absence of the governor, the chief secretary immediately became the acting governor of the colony. The chief secretaries were historically drawn from the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

or British military. One

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

served as administrator after

. Four Japanese military officers (three

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officers and one

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

vice admiral) served as administrators during the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. His surrender occurred after Batt ...

in World War II.

Transport

The governor of Hong Kong used a

Daimler DS420 The Daimler DS420, also known as the Daimler Limousine, is a limousine made by the Daimler Company between 1968 and 1992. The car was designed for official use and it was popular with chauffeur services, hoteliers and undertakers. It was used a ...

for day to day transport and a Rolls-Royce Phantom V landaulet for ceremonial occasions. Both vehicles were removed by the

immediately following the handover to China on 1 July 1997.

Residences

* The first governor, Sir Henry Pottinger, 1st

Bt. BT or Bt may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment The arts * BT (musician) (born Brian Transeau), American electronic musician * ''BT'' (album), a 2000 album by Buck-Tick * Burton Taylor Studio or ''The BT'', managed by Oxford Playhouse F ...

, resided at the site of the now Former French Mission Building from 1843 to 1846. It was used as the home of the Provisional Government after Japanese surrender from 1945 to 1946. The building now houses the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. His successor, Sir John Davis, 1st

, also lived there before moving to Caine Road. * Since the 4th governor, Sir John Bowring, the governors resided at Government House, excluding the period from 1941 to 1946. * From 1941 to 1945 the

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of Japanese Forces as Military Governor of Hong Kong occupied

Flagstaff House Flagstaff House may refer to: * Teen Murti Bhavan - earlier residence of Commander-in-Chief, India and later the residence of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru * Flagstaff House, Hong Kong - earlier residence of the British Forces ...

as their residence. The residence was returned to the Commander of British Forces following the end of World War II.

List of governors

British administrators and governors (1841–1941)

Japanese occupation (1941–1945)

British administrators and governors (1945–1997)

Timeline

Firsts

Charles Elliot Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Su ...

, first administrator * Sir Henry Pottinger, first governor, first

Irishman The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhab ...

and first Ulsterman to serve in the role * Sir John Francis Davis, first

Sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

to serve as governor * Sir John Bowring, first

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

to serve as governor * Sir John Pope Hennessy, first

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...

to serve as governor * Sir Matthew Nathan, first

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

to serve as governor * Sir Francis H. May, first police chief to serve as governor and the first governor to suffer an assassination attempt (which failed) * Sir Cecil Clementi, first Indian-born and

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

-speaking governor * Sir Mark Young, first

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

to serve as governor * Takashi Sakai, first Japanese administrator to serve as governor * Cecil Harcourt, first British military administrator to serve as governor (all past governors with military service had retired before assuming the post) * Sir Murray MacLehose, first non-colonial officer to serve as governor; he was a diplomat, a foreign service officer * Sir Edward Youde, first governor fluent in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

; only governor to die in office *

, first politician to serve as governor; only governor not to don the formal dress as governor; only governor never to have held any title of nobility or

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

during his tenure, the last Governor of Hong Kong under British rule before 1 July 1997

Standards

File:Flag of the Governor of Hong Kong 1910.svg , Standard of the governor of Hong Kong, 1910–1955 File:Flag of the Governor of Hong Kong 1955.svg, Standard of the governor of Hong Kong, 1955–1959 File:Flag of the Governor of Hong Kong (1959-1997).svg, Standard of the governor of Hong Kong, 1959–1997

References

External links

Places named after British monarchs, members of the Royal Family and colonial officials in Hong Kong

Corpus of Political Speeches
Free access to political speeches by Governor of Hong Kong and other politicians, developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Of Hong Kong British Hong Kong Defunct positions of the Hong Kong Government

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...