Donald Tsang
Second Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
via Wikipedia: Conservatism in Hong Kong · see source
Donald Tsang was the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong. He was the first ethnic Chinese to hold the position of Financial Secretary under British administration. He gained international recognition for his role in defending the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the US dollar during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
- field
- Civil service, politics
- nationality
- Hong Kong
- known_for
- Second Chief Executive of Hong Kong; defending Hong Kong dollar peg during 1997
Verified Timeline
Quick Facts
- Honorific Prefix
- The Honourable Sir
- Honorific Suffix
- country=HKG · size=100% · GBM · KBE
- Office
- 2nd Chief Executive of Hong Kong
- Term End
- 30 June 2012
- President
- Hu Jintao
- Premier
- Wen Jiabao
- Predecessor
- Tung Chee-hwa
- Successor
- Leung Chun-ying
- Office1
- Chief Secretary for Administration
- Term Start1
- 1 May 2001
- Term End1
- 31 May 2005
- 1Blankname1
- Chief Executive
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Donald Tsang joined the civil service as an Executive Officer in January 1967. He became Director of Administration in 1989, Director-General of Trade in 1991, and Secretary for the Treasury in May 1993. He was knighted by Prince Charles in June 1997. Shortly before his death in 2006, The Wall Street Journal published Milton Friedman's 'Hong Kong Wrong – What would Cowperthwaite say?' which criticised then Chief Executive Donald Tsang for having abandoned 'positive non-interventionism' by defining 'small government' as less than 20 per cent of GDP.
Reader's Guide
Donald Tsang's significance lies in his role as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong. As Financial Secretary, he earned international acclaim for defending the Hong Kong dollar's peg during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. His tenure as Chief Executive saw criticism from Milton Friedman, who in a 2006 Wall Street Journal article accused Tsang of abandoning 'positive non-interventionism' by defining 'small government' as less than 20 per cent of GDP. The source does not cover his post-handover governance, constitutional reform, the Political Appointments System, corruption allegations, or his conviction.
Did You Know?
- Donald Tsang was the first ethnic Chinese to hold the position of Financial Secretary under British administration.
- He was knighted by Prince Charles in June 1997.
- Milton Friedman criticised Tsang in a 2006 Wall Street Journal article for abandoning 'positive non-interventionism'.
- Tsang joined the civil service as an Executive Officer in January 1967.
- He served as Secretary for the Treasury from May 1993.
More in Asian Presidents And Prime Ministers 1-20
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