Eric Peter Ho Hung-luen,

CBE 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 ...

, JP (; 30 December 1927 – 25 March 2015) was a Hong Kong government official. He was the Secretary for Social Services in the 1970s, becoming one of the first Chinese policy secretaries.

Biography

Ho was born in Hong Kong on 30 December 1927 to the prominent Sir

Robert Ho Tung Sir Robert Ho Tung Bosman, (22 December 1862 – 26 April 1956), also known as Sir Robert Ho Tung, was a businessman and philanthropist in British Hong Kong. Known as "the grand old man of Hong Kong" (), he was knighted in 1915 (Knight Bachel ...

family. Eric's grandfather

Ho Fook Ho Fook (; 30 November 1863 – 29 August 1926), alias Ho Chak-sang, JP, was a prominent Hong Kong Eurasian compradore and philanthropist. Early life Ho was born in Hong Kong in 1863 to Charles Henri Maurice Bosman and Sze Sze. Educati ...

was a prominent Eurasian compradore and philanthropist. He was the chief compradore to the Jardine, Matheson & Co. and unofficial member of 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 Ko ...

. Eric's father Ho Sai Ki was the compradore of trading firm E. D. Sassoon. Eric's mother Doris Lo was sister of Sir Lo Man-kam, unofficial member of the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and Legislative Councils. Eric Peter Ho was educated at the St. Joseph's College but his education was interrupted during the Pacific War and the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce ...

. He attended the

Wah Yan College, Hong Kong Wah Yan College, Hong Kong also referred to by its acronym WYHK is a private Catholic all-boys grant-in-aid secondary education institution run by the China Province of the Society of Jesus in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It was founded by on 16 De ...

and then studied Economics at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...

. He also joined the

Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) ()), formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong. Its powers and duties were mandated by the Royal Hong Kong R ...

in 1948. He was appointed Cadet Officer by the Hong Kong government in 1957. He worked as the Assisting Secretary for Chinese Affairs and then was appointed Assisting Secretary for the Office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils. In 1963, he was appointed Assisting Financial Secretary and official Justice of the Peace. In 1968, Ho was appointed Deputy Director of Commerce and Industry and acted as Director of Commerce and Industry in 1973. On that capacity, he was also an official member of the Legislative Council. He became the Director of Home Affairs in 1973 and Secretary for Social Services in 1976. In 1981, he was awarded

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 ...

(CBE). He was appointed Secretary for Commerce and Industry in 1983 and unofficial member of the Executive Council in 1985. He was also a British representative in the Sino-British Liaison Group on the negotiation process the after the 1984

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 ...

. He retired from the civil service in 1987. After his retirement, he was appointed chairman of the Public Service Commission until 1991. He moved to the United Kingdom before 1997 and wrote a few books, including ''Times of Change'' and ''Tracing My Children's Lineage''. On 25 March 2015, he died at the Hethersett Hall Care Home in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His wife, Grace Irene Tsin-kiu Young who died in 2007 was also a public figure, businesswoman of Yaumati Ferry and appointed member of the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Eric Peter 1927 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Government officials of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Hong Kong emigrants to England Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Biography

See also

References