The Governor of Hong Kong was a British official who ruled Hong Kong during the colonial period between 1841 and 1997 and was ex officio Commander-in-Chief and Vice-Admiral of Hong Kong.
Governor of Hong Kong's Flag, 1959-1997
Upon the reunification of Hong Kong with the People's Republic of China in 1997, this office was replaced by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
The Governor, appointed by the British monarch, maintained executive power in Hong Kong throughout British rule, and with the exception of a brief experiment after World War II, there was no serious attempt was being made to introduce representative government, until the final years prior to the reunification. The Governor appointed most, if not all, of the members of the colony's legislature the Legislative Council (known colloquially as LegCo) until the first direct elections of LegCo in 1991, 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, but the last Governor, Chris Patten, was a career politician.
Residences of the governors
The first governor, Sir Henry Pottinger resided in the Former French Mission Building from 1843 to 1846. The building is now housing the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. His successor, John Francis Davis also lived there for a while, before moving to Caine road.
From the 4th governor (Sir John Bowring) until the last one (Chris Patten), governors resided at the Government House.
List
Hong Kong had 28 governors, and 9 administrators (whose names are further indented in the following list).
The Governor, appointed by the British monarch (on the advice of the prime minister), maintained executive power in HongKong 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.
In the absence of the Governor, the Colonial Secretary was the acting Governor of the colony.
HONGKONG (CNN) -- Gov. Chris Patten delivered HongKong's last annual policy address by a British governor Wednesday, challenging China to maintain political and economic freedoms when it assumes control July 1.
"HongKong represents the kind of Asia with which both West and East are comfortable," Patten said.
In a similarly defiant tone, the governor set out what he called a series of benchmarks by which HongKong under Chinese rule would be judged.
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