The Secretary for Education is a principal official in the Hong Kong Government, who heads the Education Bureau (EDB). The current office holder is Christine Choi.

History The position of Secretary for Education and Manpower was set up in 1983 when the old Education Department was restructured into the Education and Manpower Branch and Education Department, and the old position of Director of Education was split into SEM and Director of Education accordingly, with the latter reporting to the former.

Since the Principal Officials Accountability System (POAS) was introduced in 2002, the SEM, as all other secretary positions, is an ex officio member of the Executive Council (ExCo). The position is a political appointment, and its term expires when the Chief Executive leaves office.

Before the introduction of the POAS in July 2002, the SEM, as well as all other secretary-level positions, was a civil service position. The office holder was not a member of the ExCo. Before 1991, the office holders may be appointed by the Governor as ex officio member of the Legislative Council.

At the same time when the POAS was introduced in 2002, the responsibility of labour issues was transferred to the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, formerly Secretary for Economic Services.

According to the proposal tabled by Donald Tsang's administration after he was re-elected as the Chief Executive, the manpower portfolio was transferred to the new Secretary for Labour and Welfare on 1 July 2007. The position of SEM was renamed Secretary for Education.

List of office holders Political party:

Inspectors of Schools, 1862–1909 Portrait Name Term of officeGovernor Ref 1 Frederick Stewart史釗域 3 March 1862 6 March 1878 Sir Hercules Robinson Sir Richard MacDonnell Sir Arthur Kennedy Sir John Hennessy 2 Ernest John Eitel 歐德理 7 March 1878 1897 Sir George Bowen Sir William Des Voeux Sir William Robinson 3 Arthur Winbolt Brewin 蒲魯賢 15 August 1897 1901 Sir Henry Blake 4 Edward Alexander Irving伊榮 24 April 1901 7 April 1909 Sir Matthew Nathan Sir Frederick Lugard

Directors of Education, 1909–1941 Portrait Name Term of officeGovernor Ref 1 Edward Alexander Irving伊榮 8 April 1909 7 February 1924 Sir Frederick Lugard Sir Francis Henry May Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs 2 Geoffrey Norman Orme庵氏 1924 1926 Sir Cecil Clementi 3 Alan Eustace Wood活雅倫 1926 1933 Sir William Peel 4 Norman Lockhart Smith史美 1933 1934 5 Geoffrey Robley Sayer佘義 1934 1938 Sir Andrew Caldecott Sir Geoffry Northcote 6 Clifford George Sollis梳利士 1938 1941 Mark Aitchison Young

Directors of Education, 1946–1983 Portrait Name Term of officeGovernor Ref 7 Thomas Richmond Rowell柳惠露 1946 1950 Sir Mark Aitchison Young Sir Alexander Grantham 8 Douglas James Smyth Crozier高詩雅 1950 28 April 1961 Sir Robert Brown Black 9 Peter Donohue唐露曉 29 April 1961 20 February 1964 10 William David Gregg簡乃傑 21 February 1964 5 June 1969 Sir David Trench 11 John Canning簡寧 6 June 1969 1974 Sir Murray MacLehose 12 Kenneth Wallis Joseph Topley陶建 1974 1983

Secretaries for Education and Manpower, 1983–1997 Portrait Name Term of officeGovernor Ref 1 James Neil Henderson韓達誠 1983 25 August 1986 Sir Edward Youde 2 R. G. B. Bridge布立之 26 August 1986 1989 Sir David Wilson 3 Yeung Kai-yin楊啟彥 1989 1991 4 John Chan陳祖澤 1991 1993 Chris Patten 5 Leung Man-kin梁文建 1993 1995 6 Joseph Wong王永平 August 1995 30 June 1997

Secretaries for Education and Manpower, 1997–2007 Portrait Name Term of office Duration Chief Executive Term Ref 1 Joseph Wong Wing-ping王永平 1 July 1997 3 July 2000 Tung Chee-hwa 1 2 Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun羅范椒芬 3 July 2000 3 June 2002 3 Arthur Li Kwok-cheung李國章 1 July 2002 30 June 2007 2 Donald Tsang 2

Secretaries for Education, 2007–present Portrait Name Term of office Duration Chief Executive Term Ref 1 Michael Suen Ming-yeung孫明揚 1 July 2007 30 June 2012 Donald Tsang 3 2 Eddie Ng Hak-kim吳克儉 1 July 2012 30 June 2017 Leung Chun-ying 4 3 Kevin Yeung Yun-hung楊潤雄 1 July 2017 30 June 2022 Carrie Lam 5 4 Christine Choi Yuk-lin蔡若蓮 1 July 2022 Incumbent John Lee 6

See also Hong Kong Government Government departments and agencies in Hong Kong

References

External links Official website of the EMB Organisation chart of Hong Kong Government