Chief Executive of Hong Kong

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (; Cantonese Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 dak6 bit6 hang4 zing3 keoi1 hang4 zing3 zoeng2 gwun1) is the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and represents the Region.

The current Chief Executive is Donald Tsang.

Powers

Under the Basic Law, the Chief Executive is the head of the HKSAR, and is the head of the government of the HKSAR, whose powers and functions include leading the government, implementing the law, signing bills and budgets passed by the Legislative Council, deciding on government policies, nominating principal officials of the HKSAR to the Central People's Government, and appointing judges and holders of public office. He shall be accountable to the Central People's Government and the HKSAR in accordance with the Basic Law.

The Executive Council is the de facto cabinet of the Chief Executive. It is presided over by the Chief Executive and is an organ for assisting him in policy-making. The Chief Executive shall consult the Executive Council before making important policy decisions, introducing bills to the Legislative Council, making subordinate legislation or dissolving the Legislative Council.

History

The office, stipulated by the Basic Law, formally came into being on 1 July 1997 when the People's Republic of China resumed the exercise of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom. Under British colonial rule, the top position was held by the Governor of Hong Kong.

Eligibility to hold office

Article 44 of the Basic Law provides that the Chief Executive must be a Chinese citizen of not less than 40 years old, who is a permanent resident of HKSAR with no right of abode in any foreign country, and has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 20 years.

Article 47 further requires that the Chief Executive must be a person of integrity, dedicated to his or her duties.

In addition, according to electoral laws, anyone interested in running for Chief Executive must receive at least 100 nominations from the Election Committee prior to the election.

Election of the Chief Executive

The term of office of the Chief Executive is five years (If a vacancy appears mid-term, the new Chief Executive finishes up the previous Chief Executive's term), and each person can serve for not more than two consecutive terms. The method of selecting the Chief Executive is provided under Article 45 and Annex I of the Basic Law, and the Chief Executive Election Ordinance of Hong Kong. The first term of the Chief Executive was elected by a 400 member Election Committee, consisting of members as elected from respective sectors and appointed by the Central People's Government. In the second term, the Election Committee was enlarged to 800 members, mainly elected from among business and professional sectors. The elected Chief Executive must then be appointed by the Central People's Government.

Under the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, the winning candidate to the election must declare that he is not a member of a political party, and will not become a member of any political party nor subject to the discipline of any political party during his term of office. This is to ensure neutrality.

Resignation

Article 52 stipulates circumstances under which the Chief Executive must resign, including the loss of ability to discharge his or her duties, and refusal to sign a bill passed by a two-thirds majority of the Legislative Council, after previously dissolving the Council because he or she twice refuses to sign the original bill passed by a two-thirds majority.

Acting and succession

The acting and succession line is spelled out in Article 53 of the Basic Law. If the Chief Executive is not able to discharge his or her duties for short period (such as during overseas visits), the duties would be assumed by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary or the Secretary for Justice, in that order, as acting chief executive.

In case the position becomes vacant, a new Chief Executive would have to be elected. The provisions of inability to exercise the powers come into force, and then a new election is held on the Sunday on or immediately following the 120th day after the vacancy according. (No election is required, of course, if only one candidate is nominated.)

List of Chief Executives of Hong Kong

Rank	Term	from	to	Chief Executive
1	1	1 July 1997	30 June 2002	Tung Chee Hwa (董建華)
1	2	1 July 2002	12 March 2005	Tung Chee Hwa (董建華)
Acting		12 March 2005	25 May 2005	Donald Tsang (曾蔭權)
Acting		25 May 2005	24 June 2005	Henry Tang (唐英年)
2		24 June 2005	incumbent	Donald Tsang (曾蔭權)

Residence and Office

The former Tung Chee Hwa did not use the Government House as the primary residence and lived at his own residence at Grenville House, except for a short period at a government flat at Harbour View, 11 Magazine Gap Road when the flat at Grenville House was under renovation. Donald Tsang has decided to return to the renovated Government House, and has moved in on January 2006, for both his office and residence

Previous governors also had some alternative residence. Sir Hercules Robinson also had a residence, Mountain Lodge, which was built as a summer home. Only the Gate Lodge and Victoria Peak Garden remains (Sir Richard MacDonnell also had a residence built in 1868). The Fanling Lodge in the New Territories remains the alternate summer residence after 1997.

Prior to the handover in 1997, the Office of the Chief Executive-designate was at the seventh floor of the Asia Pacific Finance Tower. When Tung Chee Hwa assumed duty on 1 July 1997, the Office of the Chief Executive was located at the fifth floor of the Central Government Offices (Main Wing), also known as Government Headquarters, and known before as Government Secretariat. In the past the governor had his office at the Government House.

On 21 December 2005 Chief Executive Donald Tsang has failed to have political reforms passed. Meanwhile, Donald Tsang may face another political risk as the Korean foreign relation keeps close eyes on the 14 men (most of them Korean) under charges for anti-WTO actions against the 2005 WTO conference.

External links

Heads of government | Hong Kong-related lists | Lists of office-holders | Politics of Hong Kong | Chief Executives of Hong Kong

Chef de l'exécutif de Hong Kong | 香港特別行政区行政長官 | 香港特別行政區行政長官 | 香港特別行政區行政長官

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