David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the British diplomat Dr David Wilson. For the similarly-named museum director, see David M. Wilson.

Lord Temporal
In office
15 July 1992 – 12 February 2021
Life Peerage
Academic positions
Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen
In office
6 June 1997 – 6 January 2013
Preceded bySir Kenneth Alexander
Succeeded byQueen Camilla
Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
In office
1 January 2002 – 3 March 2008
Preceded byJohn Meurig Thomas
Succeeded byAdrian Dixon
Personal details
Born
David Clive Wilson

(1935-02-14) 14 February 1935 (age 89)
Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Spouse
Natasha Helen Mary Alexander
​
​
(m. 1967)​
Children2, including Peter Wilson
EducationTrinity College, Glenalmond
Alma mater
ProfessionColonial administrator, diplomat, sinologist
Chinese name
Hanyu Pinyin
Wèi Yìxìn
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingwai6 jik6 seon3

David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn,

Commander-in-Chief and 27th Governor of Hong Kong (from 1987 to 1992). He served as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
, the British Monarch's representative to the Assembly, in 2010 and 2011. He is also one of the two living former governors of Hong Kong with
Chris Patten. He retired from the House of Lords on 12 February 2021 after sitting as a crossbencher for over 28 years.[1]

Early life and career

Wilson was born in

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (PhD in contemporary Chinese history, 1973). He studied Chinese at the University of Hong Kong from 1960 to 1962 and then served in the British Mission in Beijing. He is fluent in Mandarin and has mastered basic Cantonese and spent 10 of his 30 years as a diplomat in China.[2]

In 1968 Wilson resigned from the

Sir Murray MacLehose, then Governor of Hong Kong. Following that he became Head of Southern European Department in the FCO and then Assistant Under Secretary for Asia and the Pacific during which time he was head of the British side of the Working Group engaged in drafting the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong and then, in 1984, the first Senior British Representative on the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (中英聯合聯絡小組) set up under the Joint Declaration. When Sir Edward Youde died in Beijing on 5 December 1986, Wilson replaced him to become the Governor of Hong Kong on 9 April 1987.[2]

Hong Kong governorship

Wilson (right) in 1991 with John Yaxley

As governor, Wilson had to deal with the fallout in Hong Kong from the 1989

Rose Garden Project (玫瑰園計劃, see Hong Kong International Airport). The proposal was created out of concern that Kai Tak Airport
, which had been in use since the beginning of aviation in Hong Kong, was not equipped to handle modern aviation needs.

In December 1991, Britain announced the removal of Wilson as the governor, who had been widely criticised by Hong Kong's pro-democratic camp, three months after their strong performance in Hong Kong's first direct elections to the Legislative Council.[3] Wilson left Hong Kong in June 1992 following the completion of his five-year term as governor. Before his retirement Wilson embarked on political reforms that paved the way for eighteen legislators of the Legislative Council to be directly elected by the people of Hong Kong.

Wilson was succeeded by

Member of the Parliament who was recently defeated in the general election before was being appointed.[4]

Name in Chinese

When Wilson studied Mandarin Chinese at The University of Hong Kong, he was given the Chinese name Wei Dewei or Ngai Tak-Ngai (Chinese: 魏德巍; Jyutping: Ngai6 Dak1-ngai4); "Wei" was short for "Wilson", while "Dewei" is a Chinese transliteration of David. However, when he arrived in Hong Kong to take up the position of Governor of Hong Kong, it was noted that the Cantonese pronunciation of his earlier name sounded almost nothing like his actual name.[5]

Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times commented that Wilson's previous Chinese name sounded too much like "hypocrisy to the extent of danger" (偽得危). Kristof also noted that the surname and the third character can each be divided into components meaning "1,800 female ghosts" (千八女鬼).[5] According to Chan Chung-kwong of RTHK, some locals referred to the name as "two ghosts knocking at the door" (雙鬼拍門), which is unlucky and inappropriate for a governor's name.[6]

When Wilson assumed his position as Governor of Hong Kong, he changed his Chinese name to Wai Yik-Shun (

strokes, said to be a lucky number.[6]

Post-governorship

After his governorship and elevation to a

Sir John Arbuthnott.[10] In January 2010 he was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
for 2010.

Wilson informed the Clerk of the Parliaments that he would retire from the House of Lords on 12 February 2021 under the provisions of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.[1]

Places named after him

The 78-kilometre Wilson Trail, containing ten hiking segments aligned north–south in Hong Kong, is named after him, as is the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust (衛奕信勳爵文物信託) established in December 1992 to preserve and conserve Hong Kong's heritage.

Personal life

David and Natasha Wilson at Cambridge University, March 2013.

Wilson married Natasha Helen Mary Alexander, daughter of Bernard Gustav Alexander, in 1967 and they have two sons, Peter and Andrew.[citation needed]

Views

Wilson defended Hong Kong Police during

2019 Hong Kong protests, he was against the British government's interference into the situation, stated "we cannot and should not try to tell the Hong Kong Government what to do" in a speech given at the House of Lords. he believes such demonstrations "started peacefully" with "a majority of young people who were clearly well-intentioned and concerned about their own future", but continued with an increasing amount of violence; he believed the police brutality during the event should be remedied, but "it is worth remembering not only that the police have been under enormous strain week after week, weekend after weekend, but that their families have also been threatened".[12]

Wilson was criticised by the pro-democracy camp for not moving more quickly towards a fully elected Legislature based on universal suffrage and for paying too much attention to the views of the Government in China in agreeing arrangements for a process of increasing the number of fully elected seats up to and beyond the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.[citation needed]

Honours

Knight of the Order of the Thistle in St Giles' Cathedral
, Edinburgh.
Viceregal styles of
David Wilson
(1987-1992)
His Excellency
the Right Honourable
Spoken styleYour Excellency

Styles

  • Mr David Clive Wilson (1937–1972)
  • Dr David Clive Wilson (1972–1987)
  • His Excellency The Rt Hon. Sir David Clive Wilson,
    G.C.M.G.
    in 1991) (1987–1992)
  • The Rt Hon. The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn,
    G.C.M.G.
    (1992–2000)
  • The Rt Hon. The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn,
    G.C.M.G.
    (2000–present)

Arms

Coat of arms of David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn
Coronet
Coronet of a Baron
Crest
A Talbot's Head erased Sable langued Gules gorged of a Collar Argent charged with two Mullets Gules
Escutcheon
Sable on a Chevron Argent between a Dragon passant guardant Or in chief and a Demi Wolf holding in its paws a Pearl proper in base a Celtic Cross Azure

References

  1. ^ a b "Retirement - notification of intention". UK Parliament. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d WILSON OF TILLYORN, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, 2017 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2016)
  3. ISBN 9789888139491
    .
  4. ^ Tsang, Steve, A Modern History of Hong Kong, p.254.
  5. ^
    Kristof, Nicholas (21 September 1987), "In China, the right name can mean the good life", The New York Times
    , retrieved 20 October 2011
  6. ^
    Radio Television Hong Kong, 20 June 2010, archived from the original
    on 25 April 2012, retrieved 20 October 2011
  7. ^ Craig R. Whitney (26 April 1992). "Ally of Major Is Named Hong Kong Governor". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  8. ^ "No. 52840". The London Gazette. 19 February 1992. p. 2863.
  9. ^ "HRH The Duchess of Rothesay joins University 'family'". University of Aberdeen.
  10. ^ "Presidents" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh.
  11. ^ "British lords back Hong Kong's policing methods". South China Morning Post. 16 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Hong Kong Volume 800: debated on Thursday 24 October 2019". UK Parliament Hansard. 24 October 2019.
  13. ^ "No. 24931". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 December 2000. p. 2690.
  14. ^ "No. 52382". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1990. p. 3.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn.
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Hong Kong
1987–1992 		Succeeded by
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded by President of the Legislative Council
1987–1992 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen
1997–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
2002–2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
2008–2011 		Succeeded by
Sir John Arbuthnott
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank
 Gentlemen
Baron Wilson of Tillyorn 		Followed by
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