Executive Council of Hong Kong

Coordinates: 22°16′53″N 114°09′54″E / 22.281487°N 114.165089°E / 22.281487; 114.165089
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

22°16′53″N 114°09′54″E / 22.281487°N 114.165089°E / 22.281487; 114.165089

Executive Council of Hong Kong
Hanyu Pinyin
Xíngzhèngjú
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHàhng jing guhk
JyutpingHang4 zing3 guk6

The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the

.

Under the presidency of the Chief Executive, the Executive Council consists of 21

pro-establishment political parties
) headed by the Convenor of the Non-official Members. The Council normally meets once a week.

History

The Executive Council was set up by the

Jardine's, a solicitor, two barristers, and a physician.[3]

In 1994 the title 'Senior Member' or 'Senior Unofficial Member' was changed to 'Convenor', when Lydia Dunn was succeeded in the post by Rosanna Wong.[4]

The format of the Executive Council was retained after the

ministers-without-portfolio
. The position of convenor was abolished.

In fulfilling his election platform, Chief Executive

Sir Donald Tsang appointed eight new non-official members the day after delivering his first policy address
on 12 October 2005. Secretaries of bureaux would sit in meetings of the Council when the agenda was related to their portfolio, and the position of convenor was restored. It was presented as a move to re-strengthen the role of the council as a link with the community.

Change in composition

Year Number of
Official Members
exclusive of the
Chief Executive
Number of
Non-official Members
1997 3 11
2002 14 5
2004 14 7
2005 14 15
2007 15 16
2008 15 15
2009 15 16
2012 15 14
2012 15 16
2013 15 14
2015 15 15
2015 16 14
2015 16 16
2016 16 16
2017 16 15
2017 16 16
2022 21 16

Functions

The Executive Council is to advise the Chief Executive in policy-making and the administration of the government. The Chief Executive acting after consultation with the Executive Council is known as Chief Executive in Council.[5]

Under Article 54 of the

Ordinances.[6]
A Chief Executive rejecting a majority opinion of the Executive Council is required to put the specific reasons for the rejection on record.

Composition

The members of Executive Council are appointed by the Chief Executive from among principal officials (heads of department, informally called "ministers"), members of Legislative Council, and public figures. Their appointment and removal is decided by the Chief Executive. There is no fixed term of office, but the term of office of members cannot extend beyond the expiry of that of the Chief Executive who appoints them (Article 55 of the Basic Law).

The council is presided over by the Chief Executive. In addition to the 21 principal officials there are 16 Non-official members. Other than the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Secretary for Justice, official members only sit in meetings that are related to their portfolio. In accordance with the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance, the members of the Executive Council should take the Oath of Fidelity after his/her appointment and promise not to reveal any matters being discussed in the council. The aim of this principle was to ensure that the members could speak freely without any fears and pressure, so as to facilitate the Chief Executive to receive prompt and objective advices in the policy making process.[7]

The following list includes all members of the Executive Council in the order of precedence:

  • Note: To avoid confusion, all the names on this list follow the Hong Kong convention (English name <if available>, family name, Chinese given name <if available>) for consistency.
Capacity Portrait Member Affiliation Portfolio Assumed office Born in Ref
President
John Lee
Nonpartisan
Chief Executive 1 July 2022 1957
Official Eric Chan
Nonpartisan
Chief Secretary for Administration
1 July 2022 1959
Official
Paul Chan
Nonpartisan
Financial Secretary
16 January 2017 1955
Official Paul Lam
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Justice 1 July 2022 1967/1968
Non-official Regina Ip
NPP
Non-official Convenor of the Executive Council
New People's Party
1 July 2017 1950
Official Warner Cheuk
Nonpartisan
Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration 1 July 2022 1959
Official Michael Wong
Nonpartisan
Deputy Financial Secretary 1 July 2022 1962
Official Horace Cheung
Nonpartisan
Deputy Secretary for Justice 1 July 2022 1974
Non-official Arthur Li
Nonpartisan
Member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the HKSAR under the
NPCSC
1 July 2012 1945 [8]
Non-official Jeffrey Lam BPA Member of Legislative Council
Vice-chairman of BPA
17 October 2012 1951
Non-official Tommy Cheung
Liberal
Liberal Party
25 November 2016 1949
Non-official Martin Liao
Nonpartisan
Member of Legislative Council 25 November 2016 1957
Non-official Joseph Yam
Nonpartisan
Executive Vice President of the China Society for Finance and Banking 1 July 2017 1948
Non-official Ronny Tong Path of Democracy
Senior Counsel
Convenor of Path of Democracy
1 July 2017 1950
Non-official
LAM Ching-choi 打第二劑科興疫苗 20210322.png
Lam Ching-choi
Nonpartisan
Chairman of the Elderly Commission 1 July 2017 1960
Official Kevin Yeung
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism 1 July 2022 1963
Non-official Kenneth Lau
BPA
Member of Legislative Council
Chairman of Heung Yee Kuk
1 July 2017 1966
Official Erick Tsang
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs 20 April 2020 1963
Official Christopher Hui
DAB
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury 20 April 2020 1977
Official Chris Tang
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Security 25 June 2021 1965
Non-official Moses Cheng
Nonpartisan
Chairman of the Council of the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong
Chancellor of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui
1 July 2022 1949/1950
Non-official Margaret Leung
Nonpartisan
Treasurer of the University of Hong Kong 1 July 2022 1952
Non-official Chan Kin-por
Nonpartisan
Member of the Legislative Council 1 July 2022 1954
Non-official Eliza Chan
Nonpartisan
Member of the National Committee of
CPPCC
1 July 2022 1956/1957
Non-official Ko Wing-man
Nonpartisan
Former
Secretary for Food and Health
1 July 2022 1957
Official Tse Chin-wan
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Environment and Ecology 1 July 2022 1957/1958
Official Algernon Yau
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development 1 July 2022 1958/1959
Official Lo Chung-mau
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Health 1 July 2022 1960/1961
Official Lam Sai-hung
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Transport and Logistics 1 July 2022 1961/1962
Official Bernadette Linn
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Development 1 July 2022 1963/1964
Official Winnie Ho
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Housing 1 July 2022 1964/1965
Official
Ingrid Yeung
Nonpartisan
Secretary for the Civil Service 1 July 2022 1964/1965
Official Christine Choi
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Education 1 July 2022 1966/1967
Official Dong Sun
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry 1 July 2022 1966/1967
Non-official Stanley Ng FTU Member of the Legislative Council 1 July 2022 1970
Official Alice Mak FTU Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs 1 July 2022 1970
Official Chris Sun
Nonpartisan
Secretary for Labour and Welfare 1 July 2022 1971/72
Non-official Gary Chan
DAB
Member of the Legislative Council 1 July 2022 1976

Source[9]

List of the past Executive Councils

Location

The Executive Council meets in the Lower Block of the Central Government Complex, Tamar. Until 2012, ExCo met in the Main Wing of the Central Government Offices on Government Hill, in Central and below Government House (former residence of the British Governor of Hong Kong).

Prior to the

Tung Chee Hwa, met in Shenzhen or Tung's office on the 11th floor of the Asia Pacific Finance Tower
in Hong Kong. Members of the outgoing British Hong Kong ExCo were not permitted to attend this body.

Both Executive Council sittings were on Tuesdays.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hong Kong – the Facts". GovHK.
  2. ^ Article 54, Hong Kong Basic Law: The Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be an organ for assisting the Chief Executive in policy-making.
  3. ^ Ingrams, Harold, Hong Kong (Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London: 1952), p. 231.
  4. ^ Section 3, Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1).
  5. ^ Section 64, Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1).
  6. PMID 33850414
    .
  7. ^ "Professor the Honourable Arthur LI Kwok-cheung, GBS, JP". Executive Council of Hong Kong. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  8. ^ Executive Council - Membership of Executive Council, 1 July 2022

External links