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).

See also

• History of Hong Kong