Derek John Claremont Jones (; 2 July 1927 – 4 October 2008) was a British and Hong Kong government official and a Senior Fellow of the Trade Policy Research Centre in London. He originally served in the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and was posted to the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

in 1971. In Hong Kong, he was the first to hold the post of

Secretary for Economic Services The Secretary for Economic Services ( and later ) was a minister position in the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for economic development in Hong Kong. The position was renamed to the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour () af ...

under the reform in 1973 and had served as Secretary for the Environment,

Secretary for Transport The Secretary for Transport and Logistics () in Hong Kong is responsible for transport and logistics related issues. The position was created in 2022 to replace the previous position of Secretary for the Transport and Housing. The position of S ...

and Official Legislative Councillor before he was posted to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

serving as Minister for Hong Kong Relations with

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

and Member States in 1982. He subsequently retired from the government in 1986.

Early life

Jones was born in England, the United Kingdom on 2 July 1927 and was the eldest son of Albert Claremont Jones and Ethel Lilian Jones (née Hazell). He entered

Colston School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...

in Bristol and received further education in

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

where he graduated with a BA degree. He later obtained a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree with honours in economics in the London School of Economics and Political Science as well.

British Government

Jones had served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

from 1946 to 1948 before he joined the

in 1950. He was Economic Assistant in the Economic Section of the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

from 1950 to 1953, a time when

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

was still

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. From 1953 to 1955, he was posted to Paris serving as Second Secretary in the United Kingdom Delegation to the

OEEC The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. After that, he returned to the homeland and became Assistant Principal of the Colonial Office from 1955 to 1957 and was later promoted as Principal of the Office from 1957 to 1966. When the Colonial Office was abolished in 1966, Jones was transferred to the

Commonwealth Office The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Common ...

to serve as First Secretary. One year later, he was posted to the United Kingdom Mission in Geneva and became a Counsellor especially responsible for the trading affairs to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Government

In 1971, Jones was transferred to the

Hong Kong government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

and became Deputy Economic Secretary under the Economic Services Branch of the

Colonial Secretariat The Government Secretariat (; known as 布政司署 before 1997) is collectively formed by the Offices of the Chief Secretary and the Financial Secretary and thirteen policy bureaux. The offices are officially known as "''Government Secretariat: ...

. In 1973, the Hong Kong Government, under

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sir Murray MacLehose Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four ...

(later Lord), reformed its organisation according to the recommendations made in the ''

McKinsey Report McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

''. A new form of structure, nicknamed "Mini-Cabinet" by the local newspapers, was introduced that six new government posts were rearranged. They were namely the Secretary for Home Affairs,

Secretary for Housing The Secretary for Housing () in Hong Kong is responsible for housing related issues. The position was first created in 1973 and re-created in 2022 after renamed to Secretary for Transport and Housing in 2007. List of office holders Political par ...

, Secretary for the Environment,

Secretary for Social Services The Secretary for Health () is a ministerial position in the Hong Kong Government, who heads the Health Bureau. The current office holder is Lo Chung-mau. The position was created on 1 July 2022, following the reshuffle of the principal off ...

, Secretary for Security and

. Jones was appointed for the post of Secretary for Economic Services in November 1973, and became the Secretary for the Environment in September 1976. In September 1981, he was appointed as the newly created

. However, he had served for only a few months before he was posted to

and served as Minister for Hong Kong Relations with European Community and Member States in early 1982. He was replaced by

Peter Tsao Peter Tsao Kwang-yung, CBE (1989) (Chinese: 曹廣榮; born 7 October 1933, Shanghai – died 5 June 2005, Thailand) was a career civil servant of Hong Kong. Tsao was Secretary for Administrative Services and Information (行政司) and Secreta ...

in May 1986 and retired from the government. When he was Secretary of the Government, Jones was responsible to a number of issues including the construction of Tsuen Wan line of the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...

. Besides, he was also an Official Legislative Councillor from 1973 to 1982 and was member of various organisations and public bodies, such as the director of

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...

, China Motor Bus and Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation, the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Environmental Protection, Transport Advisory Committee and Special Committee on Land Production and a member of the Oil Policy Committee. Jones was made

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the New Year Honours of 1979 for his public services.

Later years

Jones was a Senior Fellow of the Trade Policy Research Centre in London from 1986 to 1990. Following that, he lived a quiet life in retirement. On 4 October 2008, he died peacefully in his sleep, after a short illness, in

St Agnes, Cornwall St Agnes ( kw, Breanek) is a civil parish and a large village on the north coast of Cornwall, UK. The village is about five miles (8 km) north of Redruth and ten miles (16 km) southwest of Newquay. ''and'' An electoral ward exists s ...

. He was 81 and was buried in St Agnes Cemetery on 15 October.

Family

Jones had two marriages. He married Jean Cynthia Withams firstly in 1951. The couple had one son and two daughters. He married Kay Cecile Thewlis in his second marriage in 1970 and they had one son. Jones interests included travel,

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and

conversation Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...

Conferment

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(officia

*

(CMG), 1979 New Year Honours)

Footnotes

References

*
Summary of the McKinsey Report
', McKinsey & Company, Inc., November 1972. * Edited by Kevin Sinclair, ''Who's who in Hong Kong'', Hong Kong: Asianet Information Services Ltd., 1982. *
Triumph, Failure or Pyrrhic Victory — the Tokyo Round in Perspective
, ''World Economy'' Volume 10 Issue 3, September 1987. * ''Who's Who'', A & C Black, 2008. *
Jones, Derek John Claremont C.M.G.
, ''Telegraph Announcements'', UK: Telegraph, 9 October 2008. * ''London Gazette'': (Supplement) no. 47723, page 3,.

External links

Tribute to Derek Jones
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Derek John Claremont 1927 births 2008 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Government officials of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Alumni of the University of Bristol Alumni of the London School of Economics Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Civil servants in the Colonial Office Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office People educated at Colston's School