Bernard Chan
Bernard Charnwut Chan GBM GBS JP Professor (born 11 January 1965) is a Hong Kong politician and businessman. He is the youngest son of Chan Yau Hing of the Thai‑Chinese community, and currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive of Asia Financial Group and Asia Insurance Company, Deputy Chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, and Director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He was first elected as a deputy to China’s National People’s Congress in 2008 and re‑elected twice thereafter. Nicknamed the “King of Public Office”[1][2]in Hong Kong, he has held numerous public roles, including Convenor of non‑official Executive Council members, Chairman of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Chairman of the M+ [3]Museum Board, Chairman of the Palace Museum Board, and Chairman of Tai Kwun Cultural and Arts Company. He has also served as a member of the Legislative Council, Chairman of Lingnan University Council, Chairman of the Sustainable[4] Development Advisory Committee, and Chairman of committees on salt and sugar reduction and historic building conservation. Since 2017 he has led the non‑official members of the Executive Council, and in June 2022 became a director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.[5] He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2006 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2020. In September 2023 he was appointed Chairman of the Our Hong Kong Foundation.[6]
Early life and education
Bernard Chan was educated at St. Joseph’s Primary School and Ying Wa College before attending Pomona College in California, USA, where he majored in the arts and economics.
Career
Chan began his public service as a Legislative Council member for the Insurance functional constituency from 1998 to 2008. He joined the Executive Council in 2004, giving up his Thai and earlier US citizenships, and served until 2009, then rejoined in 2012 and was named Convenor in 2017. He has held senior roles in numerous statutory bodies and cultural institutions, and is a visiting professor in the Department of Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Honours
- Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong (1999)
- Justice of the Peace (2002)
- Commander, Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (2004)
- Gold Bauhinia Star (2006)
- Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong (2015)
- Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Lingnan University (2015)
- Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, Open University of Hong Kong (2017)
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Savannah College of Art and Design (2019)
- Grand Bauhinia Medal (2020)
References
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E6%99%BA%E6%80%9D#cite_ref-3
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E6%99%BA%E6%80%9D#cite_ref-4
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E6%99%BA%E6%80%9D#cite_ref-5
- ↑ https://www.enb.gov.hk/tc/susdev/council/index.htm
- ↑ https://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk/staff/chan-bernard/
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%99%B3%E6%99%BA%E6%80%9D#cite_ref-8
- 1965 births
- Living people
- Hong Kong politicians
- Hong Kong business executives
- Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
- Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
- Delegates to the National People’s Congress from Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Jockey Club directors
- West Kowloon Cultural District Authority people
- Grand Bauhinia Medal recipients
- Gold Bauhinia Star recipients
- Justice of the Peace
- Pomona College alumni
- Ying Wa College alumni
- St. Joseph’s Primary School alumni