The Chief Secretary for Administration, commonly known as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Government Secretariat which oversees the administration of the Region to which all other ministers belong, and is accountable for his or her policies and actions to the Chief Executive and to the Legislative Council. Under Article 53 of the Basic Law, the position is known as "Administrative Secretary". As the second highest ranking public official in Hong Kong, the Chief Secretary acts as Acting Chief Executive when the Chief Executive is absent.
The Chief Secretary formulates and implements government policy, gives advice to the Chief Executive as a member of the Executive Council, and is responsible for managing the Government's relationship with the Legislative Council and drawing up the Government's legislative programme. The office (“Department of Administration” per Article 60 of the Basic Law) also exercises certain statutory functions, such as the handling of appeals from designated public bodies.[2]
From the 1870s to 1902 the Colonial Secretary was the de factoLieutenant Governor of Hong Kong which was once held by the Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong before 1870s when the post was not lapsed from power. After 1902 the title disappeared from use as the second highest post was transferred to the Colonial Secretary and later, Chief Secretary.[citation needed]
List of Chief Secretaries of Hong Kong
Colonial Secretaries, 1843–1941
Colonial Secretaries, 1946–1976
Chief Secretaries, 1976–1997
Chief Secretaries for Administration, 1997–present
Choa, Gerald H. (2000). "Appendix II: Colonial Secretaries of Hong Kong, 1843–1912". The Life and Times of Sir Kai Ho Kai: A Prominent Figure in Nineteenth-Century Hong Kong (2nd ed.). Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-962-201-873-0. OCLC 44267286.
Specific
^"Remuneration package for Politically Appointed Officials serving in fifth-term HKSAR Government". Hong Kong Government.
^Chief Secretary's Office, Hong Kong Government
^"Civil Service Bureau - Search Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in Government Departments". www.csb.gov.hk. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
^ a b c"Colonial Secretary (Change of Title) Notice 1976 L.N. 226 of 1976". Regulation of Hong Kong 1976: B1109. 25 August 1976.
^Roberts, Denys (18 April 2006). Another Disaster: Hong Kong Sketches. The Radcliffe Press. ISBN 9781845111120.