Edward Barrie Wiggham, (born 1937) is a former British senior civil servant in 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, ...

. He was the

Secretary for the Civil Service The Secretary for the Civil Service is the head of the Civil Service Bureau in Hong Kong. Unlike other secretaries for bureaux, the Secretary for the Civil Service is filled by an administrative officer from the civil service, who may choose to ...

from 1990 to 1993.

Biography

Wiggham was born in 1937 and was graduated from the

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in Modern Languages in 1961. From 1956 to 1958, he served in the military in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. He moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 1961 to learn

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

. Besides that he spoke also

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. He joined the Hong Kong government and worked in the

Urban Services Department Urban Services Department () was a government department in Hong Kong. It carried out the policies and managed the facilities of the former Urban Council. After being abolished with the Urban Council in 1999, its functions were inherited by the ...

and New Territories Administration before he was Deputy Director of Commerce in 1970. He subsequently served as Principal Assistant Financial Secretary, Deputy Secretary for the New Territories. In the late 1970s, Wiggham was the head of the Home Affairs Information Branch in charge of overt

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

for the colony. He was also the first chairman of the secret body called the

Standing Committee On Pressure Groups The Standing Committee on Pressure Groups (SCOPG) was a secret committee set up in 1978 by the Hong Kong government to monitor the activities of pressure groups. The existence of this committee was first revealed in the ''New Statesman'' on 12 Decem ...

(SCOPG) set up in 1978 which was responsible for coordinating government surveillance of any protest or campaigning group and of mounting counter-attacks. He was member of the

Sino-British Joint Liaison Group Sino-British Joint Liaison Group () or simply Joint Liaison Group was a meeting group formed in 1985 between the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the People's Republic of China after signing of Sino–B ...

dealing with the implementation of the

Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...

over Hong Kong's sovereignty after 1997. He was appointed Secretary for General Duties in 1986. After the

Tiananmen massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

in 1989, Wiggham publicly asked for major changes to draft

Basic Law of Hong Kong The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ar ...

. He requested the Chinese authorities to delay the promulgation of the Basic Law scheduled in 1990 and not to station the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

in future Hong Kong in August. However his suggestions were not adopted. In 1990, he was appointed

and official member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...

. As Hong Kong's

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

leader

Martin Lee Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He ...

called out the British for the betrayal as it handed Hong Kong over to China and refused to introduce a democratic system in Hong Kong, Wiggham defended London by saying that it would be counterproductive to develop democratic institutions that China might dismantle. He was made

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1991. In 1993, Wiggham was appointed to the new position of the Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs,

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. His $12 million mansion in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

however caused controversy in the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

. His position of Secretary for the Civil Service was replaced by

Anson Chan Anson Maria Elizabeth Chan Fang On-sang, (; ''née'' Fang; born 17 January 1940) is a retired Hong Kong politician and civil servant who was the first ethnic Chinese and woman to serve as Chief Secretary, the second-highest position in both ...

, who became the first Chinese and first woman to take such position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggham, Barrie 1937 births Government officials of Hong Kong Hong Kong civil servants Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong justices of the peace Alumni of the University of Oxford Living people