Sir Donald Tsang Yam Kuen GBM JP KBE (Chinese: 曾蔭權) (born 1944) is Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong SAR. He is currently serving as acting Chief Executive following Tung Chee Hwa's resignation on March 12, 2005. He has been dubbed bow-tied Tsang because of his fashion style of wearing bow tie.

Mr Tsang is married with two sons. His younger brother, Tsang Yam-pui, was the Police Commissioner of Hong Kong until December 2003, and had been a career policeman who worked up the ranks from inspector.

Early life

Tsang was born in Hong Kong in October, 1944. His father was a policeman, and Donald is the eldest son. After completing secondary and matriculation education in Wah Yan College, Hong Kong in 1964, Tsang worked briefly as a salesman.

Civil service

He joined the civil service in January 1967 and has held many positions ranging from finance, trade to policies relating to the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty to the People's Republic of China.

From 1981 to 1982 Tsang studied in the United States where he completed a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. He has also received honorary doctorates from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

He was attached to the Asian Development Bank in Manila in 1977 for a year and worked on water supply and railway development projects in the Philippines and Bangladesh.

As Deputy Secretary of the General Duties Branch between 1985 and 1989, he was responsible for the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and promotion of "British Nationality Selection Scheme". He became the Director-General of Trade between 1991 and 1993, and was responsible for all facets of trade negotiation and administration affecting Hong Kong. In May 1993, he was promoted to Secretary for the Treasury, responsible for the overall resource allocation, the taxation systems and the cost effectiveness of the Hong Kong government.

In September 1995, he was appointed financial chief, the first Chinese to hold the position. He was created a Knight Commander in the Order of the British Empire in 1997 for his long-time service to Hong Kong, and was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal from Hong Kong government in June 2002.

During his six-year tenure, he steered Hong Kong through the Asian financial crisis that swept across the region in 1997 and 1998. He worked with Joseph Yam, chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority defended against the speculators attacking the Hong Kong currency peg.

On May 1, 2001, former chief secretary Anson Chan quit the job, citing personal reasons. Tung appointed Tsang to take the deputy leader post and invited the civil service outsider Antony Leung to take the Financial Secretary post.

As chief secretary, Tsang ranks second to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Tung Chee Hwa, and advises him on matters of policy and deputises for him during his absence. He was also a member of the Tung's inner cabinet, Executive Council, which is also the highest policy-making body in Hong Kong. He assumed the duty as the acting Chief Executive when Tung's resign was approved by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China on March 12, 2005.

As acting chief executive

Main artice: Tung Chee Hwa's resignation

According to Article 53 (http://www.info.gov.hk/basic_law/fulltext/content0204.htm#Section_1) of the Basic Law, if the chief executive resigns, the chief secretary will assume the duty as acting chief executive for a maximum of six months. At 17:30 (HKT) of March 10, 2005 in Hong Kong, Tung Chee Hwa announced his resignation due to "health problems". The resignation was endorsed by the Central People's Government on March 12. The Central People's Government also confirmed Tsang as Acting Chief Executive.

External link

• http://www.info.gov.hk/info/cs.htm