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{{Short description|Historic Hong Kong government position}}{{for|the rank Senior Member in the US’ Civil Air Patrol|Civil Air Patrol#Senior members}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}{{Use Hong Kong English|date=December 2018}}

factoids

The Senior Unofficial Member, later Senior Member and, finally, Convenor of the Non-official Members, was the highest-ranking unofficial member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and Executive Council (ExCo) of British Hong Kong, which was tasked with representing the opinions of all unofficial members of the council to the Governor.Ethnic Chinese members of either council were frequently referred to as “Chinese representatives” of the council before the introduction of elected seats in the LegCo; the most senior ethnic Chinese member was dubbed the “Senior Chinese Unofficial Member” ({{zh|t=首席華人非官守議員}}) or “Senior Chinese Representative”.

Background

The Executive Council and the Legislative Council were set up in 1843, initially composing of colonial administrators only. The councils were initially chaired by the Governor of Hong Kong. The colony’s residents remained unrepresented until 1850, when the government appointed two businessmen to the LegCo, with David Jardine of Jardines as the first Senior Unofficial Member of the LegCo in the history of Hong Kong. It was not until 1896, on his appointment to ExCo, that Catchick Paul Chater became the Senior Unofficial Member.Historically, ExCo Senior Unofficial Member importance greatly exceeded that of the LegCo counterpart, thus their term of office were longer. Before the Second World War, there were only three Senior Unofficial Members in ExCo, whereas there have been four LegCo Senior Unofficial Members. Initially, membership was restricted to Europeans; ethnic Chinese were admitted at a later date. The first ethnic Chinese to be appointed LegCo Senior Unofficial Member was Ho Kai, who held the post from 1906 to 1914. The first ethnic Chinese to be appointed ExCo Senior Unofficial Member was Chau Tsun-nin, who held the post from 1953 to 1959. Prior to Chau Tsun-nin, Chow Shouson was also ExCo Senior Unofficial Member when he stood in for three months following Henry Pollock.Senior Unofficial Members of the ExCo would customarily be knighted if they were not already knights, although their LegCo counterparts would not. Pre-WWII ExCo and LegCo Senior Unofficial Member typically served renewable four- to five-year terms. Their seniority implied they would not remain as ordinary Legco/Exco members at the end of their terms, but would leave the council on expiry.In 1985, indirect elections were introduced for the Legislative Council. To avoid confusion, Sir Edward Youde, the then-Governor, renamed the post Senior Unofficial Member in both councils ”Senior Member”. The introduction in 1991 of direct elections to the LegCo more than doubled the number of its members. The directly elected members refused to take orders from the Senior Member. The Senior Member at the time, Allen Lee, was unable to represent the council with a single voice and would occasionally have run-ins with the directly elected members. In 1992, Governor David Wilson abolished the LegCo post of Senior Member. In 1995, Governor Chris Patten renamed the ExCo post of Senior Member ”Convenor of the Non-official Members”.During colonial times, the Urban Council also had a post entitled “Senior Unofficial Member”, with a similar role. However, its importance was considerably less than its ExCo and LegCo counterparts.

Statistical overview

In total there have been 26 and 11 Senior Unofficial Members respectively of LegCo and ExCo. Of these, six have served as Senior Unofficial Members in both councils: Catchick Paul Chater, Sir Henry Pollock, Chau Tsun-nin, Kan Yuet-keung, Chung Sze-yuen and Lydia Dunn.The longest serving Senior Unofficial Members of LegCo were Sir Henry Pollock and Phineas Ryrie, who sat for 24 and 22 years respectively; the three who served the shortest duration were George Lyall, John Dent and Kwok Chan, who sat for one year. Lydia Dunn was the only female; Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee was the only Parsee; Roger Lobo was the only Portuguese.The longest serving Senior Unofficial Members of ExCo was Catchick Paul Chater, who served a total of 30 years; the shortest tenures was Sir Sidney Gordon, serving under one year. Lydia Dunn was the first female ExCo Senior Unofficial Member. Chater was the only Senior Unofficial Member to die in office; Chau Tsun-nin and Chau Sik-nin were the only Senior Unofficial Members drawn from the same clan.

Executive Council{| class“wikitable” style@text-align:center;”

! No.! Portrait! Name! Term! Governor! Remarks

	80px)	Sir Catchick Paul Chater	1896–1926	align=left	William Robinson (governor)>William RobinsonSir Henry Arthur BlakeSir Matthew NathanSir Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard	Sir Francis Henry MaySir Edward StubbsSir Cecil Clementi >	Former LegCo Senior Unofficial Member (1900–1906);Died in office

	80px)	Sir Henry Pollock	1926–1941	align=left	Cecil ClementiSir William Peel, 1st Earl Peel>William PeelSir Andrew CaldecottSir Geoffry Northcote{{nowrap	Mark Aitchison Young}} >	Also LegCo Senior Unofficial Member;{{Efn|name=Chou}}

!colspan=6 | Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941–1945)

	80px)	Sir Arthur Morse	1946–1953	align=left	Mark Aitchison YoungSir Alexander Grantham >|

	80px)	Sir Tsun-nin Chau	1953–1959	align=left	Alexander GranthamSir Robert Brown Black >	Previously LegCo Senior Unofficial Member;First Chinese Senior Unofficial Member

	80px)	Sir Sik-nin Chau	1959−1962	align=left	Robert Brown Black >	Previously LegCo Senior Unofficial Member

	80x80px)	Albert Rodrigues	1962–1974	align=left	Robert Brown BlackSir David TrenchSir Murray MacLehose >	First Portuguese Senior Unofficial Member

	80x80px)	Sir Yuet-keung Kan	1974–1980	align=left	Murray MacLehose >	Previously LegCo Senior Unofficial Member

	80x80px)	Sir Sidney Gordon (businessman)	>		Sir Murray MacLehose	align=left|Assumed office from March to August 1980

	80x80px)	Sir Sze-yuen Chung	1980–1985	align=left	Murray MacLehoseSir Edward Youde >	Previously LegCo Senior Unofficial Member

! colspan=6 | Post renamed “Senior Member” in 1985

	80x80px)	Sir Sze-yuen Chung	1985–1988	align=left	Edward YoudeSir David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn>David Wilson	align=left|Previously LegCo Senior Unofficial Member

	80x80px)	Dame Lydia Dunn	1988–1995	align=left	David Clive Wilson>David WilsonChris Patten	align=left|Previously LegCo Senior Unofficial Member;First female Senior Official Member

! colspan=6 | Post renamed “Convenor of the Non-official Members” in 1995

	80x80px)	Dame Rosanna Wong	1995–1997	align=left	Chris Patten >|

! colspan=6 | Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997’’See List of Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong

Legislative Council

{| class=“wikitable sortable”! Term !! Assembly !Portrait!Name!! Constituency !! colspan=2|Party !! Entered LegCo !! colspan=“9” | Senior Unofficial Member

| –	80px)	David Jardine (merchant)	>		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1850 |

| –		Joseph Jardine >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1857 |

| –		John Dent (merchant)>John Dent	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1857 |

| –		Alexander Perceval >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1860 |

| –		Francis Chomley >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1861 |

| –		James Whittall >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1864 |

| –		Hugh Bold Gibb >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1866 |

| –		Phineas Ryrie >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1867 |

| –	80px)	Catchick Paul Chater	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1886	name=ExCo Senior}}

| –	80px)	Ho Kai	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1890 |

| –	80px)	Wei Yuk	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1896 |

| –	80px)	Henry Edward Pollock	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1906	Also ExCo Senior Unofficial Member	Chow Shouson stood in between September and December 1928|name=Chou}}

Battle of Hong Kong>1941	–		John Johnstone Paterson >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1930 |

! colspan=“9” |Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941–1945)

| –		David Fortune Landale >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1946 |

| –	80px)	Chau Tsun-nin	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1946	name=Exco}}

| –	80px)	Chau Sik-nin	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1946	name=Exco}}

| –		Ngan Shing-kwan >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1951 |

| –	80px)	Kwok Chan	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1952 |

| –		Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1953 |

| –		Kan Yuet-keung >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1961	name=Exco}}

| –	80px)	Woo Pak-chuen	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1964 |

| –		Chung Sze-yuen >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1965	name=Exco}}

| –	80px)	Oswald Cheung	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Nonpartisan politician	>| 1968		ACCESS-DATE=2023-02-05	LANGUAGE=EN,

1985 Hong Kong legislative election>1985	–		Roger Lobo >		Nonpartisan}}”		Nonpartisan politician>Nonpartisan	1972		URL=HTTPS://WWW.SCMP.COM/NEWS/HONG-KONG/ARTICLE/1772293/OBITUARY-SIR-ROGER-LOBO-HONG-KONG-LAWMAKER-WHO-SOUGHT-TRANSPARENCY	WEBSITE=SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, en,

! colspan=“9” | Senior Member

1988 Hong Kong legislative election>1988	1985–88	106x106px)	Lydia Dunn	Appointed	bgcolor=“{{party color		Independent politician	>| 1976	Later became ExCo Senior Unofficial Member		WEBSITE=LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF HONG KONG, 30 October 1985 – 25 August 1988 Appointed (Senior Unofficial Member),

1988–1992

rowspan=“2”

List of Legislative Council of Hong Kong members 1988–1991>1988–911991–95

(File:Allen Lee at 71demo 2008.jpg

Allen Lee

rowspan=“2”

Independent politician}}”

Independent politician>Independent (1978–91)

rowspan=“2” | 1978

ACCESS-DATE=2023-02-05

LANGUAGE=EN,

Co-operative Resources Centre}}”		CRC (1991–93)}}|

! colspan=“9” | Highest in order of precedence

1992–Handover of Hong Kong

>

List of Legislative Council of Hong Kong members 1991–1995

List of Legislative Council of Hong Kong members elected in 1995>1995–97

(File:Allen Lee at 71demo 2008.jpg

Allen Lee

rowspan=“2”

New Territories North-east (1995 constituency)>New Territories North-east (1995–97)

bgcolor=“{{party color

{{nowrap

Co-operative Resources Centre>CRC (1991–93)}}

rowspan=“2” | 1978 |

LPHK}}”		Liberal (1991–98)}}|

1997–1998 Hong Kong legislative election	>	PLC		rowspan=“2”	Wong Siu-yee >	N/A	bgcolor=“{{party color		Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong	(1996–97) >	1996 |

Hong Kong Progressive Alliance}}”		Hong Kong Progressive Alliance>HKPA (1997–98) |

2004 Hong Kong legislative election>2004	1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong	2nd Legislative Council of Hong Kong>2nd		Kenneth Ting >| Industrial (First)	LPHK}}”		LPHK>Liberal	1998 |

2004–2008	3rd	(File:James Tien cut.jpg|106x106px)	James Tien|Appointed (1988–91)	Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong}}”		Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong>LDF (1988–91)	1988Continuous from 1998|

Industrial (First) (1993–95)	Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong}}”		Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong>BPF (1993)|

LPHK}}”		Liberal (1993–2008)|

Commercial (First) (1998–2004)New Territories East (1998 constituency)>New Territories East (2004–08)|

2008–2016	4th Legislative Council of Hong Kong	5th Legislative Council of Hong Kong>5th	(File:Lee-cheuk-yan-confirmed-legco-by-election-candidacy-4 (cropped).jpg|106x106px)	Albert Ho	New Territories West (1995 constituency)>New Territories West (1995–97)	DPHK}}”		Democratic	1995Continuous from 1998|

New Territories West (1998 constituency)>New Territories West (1998–2012)District Council (Second) (2012–16)|

2016–2020	6th	(File:James To Kun-sun.jpg|106x106px)	James To	Kowloon West (1991 constituency)	(1991–95)Kowloon South-west (1995 constituency)>Kowloon South-west (1995–97)	United Democrats of Hong Kong}}”		United Democrats of Hong Kong>UDHK (1991–94)	1991Continuous from 1998|

DPHK}}”		Democratic (1994–2020)|

Kowloon West (1998 constituency)>Kowloon West (1998–2012)District Council (Second) (2012–20) |

2021 Hong Kong legislative election>2021	6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong>6th	106x106px)	Abraham Shek	Real Estate and Construction	Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong}}”		Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong>BPA	2000 Hong Kong legislative election>2000 |

	7th Legislative Council of Hong Kong>7th	106x106px)	Tommy Cheung	Catering	LPHK}}”		LPHK>Liberal	2000 Hong Kong legislative election>2000 |

Notes

{{Notelist}}

See also

• Executive Council of Hong Kong
• Legislative Council of Hong Kong
• Senior Chinese Unofficial Member
• Unofficial Member
• Father of the House

References

{{Reflist}}* Hong Kong Government Gazette, Hong Kong: GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG, 1852–1941.

• www.legco.gov.hk/english/index.htm" title="web.archive.org/web/20060218175633www.legco.gov.hk/english/index.htm">Hansard, Hong Kong: HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 1884–1992.
• 〈港府昨正式發表行政局議員名單〉，《工商日報》, p. 4, 8 May 1946.
• 〈行政局議員已全部委出〉，《工商日報》p. 4, 30 May 1946.
• Hong Kong Government Gazette, Hong Kong: GOVERNMENT OF HONG KONG, 1951–1959.
• Hong Kong Annual Report, Hong Kong: Government Press, 1951–1969.
• Endacott, G. B., Government and people in Hong Kong, 1841–1962: A Constitutional History, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1964.
• 鄭棟材，CHINESE UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS IN HONG KONG UP TO 1941, 29 April 1968.
• 鍾士元，《香港回歸歷程－鍾士元回憶錄》，香港：中文大學出版社，2001.
• Li, Simon, FACT SHEET-“THE FIRST” in Legislative Council History, Hong Kong: HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 13 January 2003.

External links

• CHINESE UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS IN HONG KONG UP TO 1941