Governor of Hong Kong

The Governor's powers and duties were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions. The Governor, appointed by the British monarch (on the advice of the prime minister), maintained executive power in Hong Kong throughout British rule, and with the exception of a brief experiment after World War II, no serious attempt was made to introduce representative government, until the final years of British rule.

The Governor appointed most, if not all, of the members of the colony's legislature the Legislative Council (known colloquially as LegCo), which was largely an advisory body before election was introduced until the first indirect elections of LegCo in 1985, and all members of the Executive Council (ExCo), effectively the cabinet of the colonial government. Initially both Councils were dominated by British expatriates, although this gave way to more local Hong Kong Chinese appointees in later years. Most recent governors of Hong Kong were professional diplomats, save the last Governor, Chris Patten, who was a career politician. The governor is the president of the Executive Council, and until 1993, the Legislative Council.

At 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. ^[1]

Acting Governor/Administrator

In the absence of the Governor, the Colonial Secretary was the acting Governor of the colony. Most were from the British Colonial Office or British Army officers. One Royal Navy Vice Admiral has served as administrator after World War II. Four Japanese military officers (3 army officers and 1 naval vice admiral) served as administrator during World War II.

Transport

Residences of the governors

List

Term	from	to	Governor	Administrator
	January 1841	August 1841		Captain Charles Elliot RN()
	August 1841	June 1843		Sir Henry Pottinger ()
1	June 1843	May 1844	Sir Henry Pottinger ()
2	May 1844	March 1848	Sir John Francis Davis ( or )
	March 1848	March 1848		Major-General William Staveley BA ()
3	March 1848	April 1854	Sir George Bonham ( or )
4	April 1854	May 1859	Sir John Bowring ()
	May 1859	September 1859		William Caine ()
5	September 1859	March 1865	Sir Hercules Robinson (), later Lord Rosmead
	March 1865	March 1866		William T. Mercer ()
6	March 1866	April 1872	Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell ()
	April 1872	April 1872		Henry Wase Whitfield ()
7	April 1872	March 1876	Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy ()
	March 1876	April 1877		John Gardiner Austin ()
8	April 1877	March 1882	Sir John Pope Hennessy ()
	March 1882	March 1882		Malcolm Struan Tonnochy ()
	March 1882	March 1883		Sir William H. Marsh ( or )
9	March 1883	December 1885	Sir George Ferguson Bowen ()
	December 1885	April 1887		Sir William H. Marsh ()
	April 1887	October 1887		Major-General William Gordon Cameron ()
10	October 1887	May 1891	Sir George William Des V?ux ()
	May 1891	December 1891		Major-General Digby Barker ()
11	December 1891	January 1898	Sir William Robinson ()
	February 1898	November 1898		Major-General Wilsone Black
12	November 1898	July 1903	Sir Henry Arthur Blake ()
	November 1903	July 1904		Sir Francis Henry May ()
13	July 1904	April 1907	Sir Matthew Nathan ()
	April 1907	July 1907		Sir Francis Henry May ()
14	July 1907	March 1912	Sir Frederick Lugard (), later Lord Lugard
	March 1912	July 1912		Claud Severn ()
15	July 1912	September 1918	Sir Francis Henry May ()
	September 1918	September 1919		Claud Severn (??)
16	September 1919	October 1925	Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs ()
	March 1925	November 1925		Claud Severn ()
17	November 1925	February 1930	Sir Cecil Clementi ()
	February 1930	March 1930		Wilfrid Southorn ()
18	May 1930	May 1935	Sir William Peel ()
	May 1935	September 1935		Wilfrid Southorn ()
	September 1935	November 1935		Norman Smith ()
	November 1935	December 1935		Wilfrid Southorn ()
19	December 1935	April 1937	Sir Andrew Caldecott ()
	April 1937	October 1937		Norman Smith ()
20	November 1937	September 1941	Sir Geoffrey Northcote ()
	6 September 1941	10 September 1941		Norman Smith ()
21	September 1941	Dec 1941	Sir Mark Aitchison Young ()
interrupted by Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong
	December 1941	February 1942		Lieutenant General Takashi Sakai () and Vice Admiral Masaichi Niimi ()
	February 1942	December 1944	Lieutenant-General Rensuke Isogai ()
	February 1945	August 1945	Lieutenant-General Hisaichi Tanaka ()
interrupted by Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong
	August 1945	September 1945	Provisional Government ruled by Sir Franklin Charles Gimson ()
	September 1945	April 1946	Military Government ruled by Rear Admiral Sir Cecil Halliday Jepson Harcourt ()
21	May 1946	May 1947	Sir Mark Aitchison Young ()
22	July 1947	December 1957	Sir Alexander Grantham ()
	December 1957	January 1958		Edgeworth Beresford David ()
23	January 1958	March 1964	Sir Robert Brown Black ()
	March 1964	April 1964		Edmund Brinsley Teesdale ()
24	April 1964	October 1971	Sir David Clive Crosbie Trench ()
	October 1971	November 1971		Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker ()
25	November 1971	April 1982	Sir Murray MacLehose (), later Lord MacLehose of Beoch
	April 1982	May 1982		Sir Philip Haddon-Cave ()
26	May 1982	December 1986	Sir Edward Youde () (died in office)
	December 1986	April 1987		Sir David Akers-Jones () (Acting Governor)
27	April 1987	July 1992	Sir David Wilson (), later Lord Wilson of Tillyorn
	July 1992	July 1992		Sir David Robert Ford ()
28	July 1992	June 1997	The Rt. Hon. Chris Patten (), later Lord Patten of Barnes