Leonardo Horácio d'Almada e Castro Jr. (; 28 May 1904 – 1996) was a barrister and prominent leader of the Portuguese community in Hong Kong.

Biography

He was born in Hong Kong in the d'Alamda family which had existed since the British rule of Hong Kong in 1842. He was educated as St. Joseph's College and 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 fi ...

. He later claimed he failed in completing his studies because of his laziness. He left for England and graduated in jurisprudence from the

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

in 1926 and was called to the Bar as a member of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1927. He briefly lectured commercial law at the University of Hong Kong before he started practising law in Hong Kong. Until 1960, he was one of the only four Queen's Counsel practising in Hong Kong, the others were namely,

John McNeil John McNeil (February 14, 1813 – June 8, 1891) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his role in the Palmyra Massacre and other acts of alleged brutality, as well as his participation in the Batt ...

Charles Loseby Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and

Brook Bernacchi Brook Antony Bernacchi (; 22 January 1922 – 22 September 1996) was a lawyer and politician in Hong Kong. He was the long-time chairman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong, the then quasi-opposition party in the colony and the longest serving ele ...

. He was appointed as an unofficial member 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 ...

from 1937 to 1941 in the succession of José Pedro Braga and 1946 to 1953 after the war. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he lived in

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

and served as a liaison officer between the Portuguese and British governments in connection of refugees. He was appointed to the Hong Kong Planning Unit in London during the last years of the war after his difficult journey through Japanese-occupied China to India, and then to England. He served as President of the General Military Court during the short-term British military rule after the surrender of Japan in 1945. He became the first Hong Kong Portuguese

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1947 and his wife was appointed one of Hong Kong's first female Justices of the Peace at this time. In 1949, he was appointed to 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 ...

. He was also the member of the court of the University of Hong Kong from 1937 and President of the

Hong Kong Bar Association The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society of Hong Kong is the equivalent association for solicitors in Hong Kong. Victor Dawes SC is the current chairman of the Cou ...

five times from 1951 to 1962. In the business sector, he was the director of the China Light & Power Co., China Underwriters and Far East Investment, Vice-President of the Boy Scouts Association of Hong Kong, Member of the Lusitano Club and Club Recreio. According to the ''Asia Who's Who'' in 1958, he lived in 12 Kadoorie Avenue, Kowloon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almada e Castro, Leo Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong 1904 births 1996 deaths 20th-century King's Counsel Hong Kong people of Portuguese descent Barristers of Hong Kong Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Hong Kong Queen's Counsel Alumni of the University of Hong Kong Academic staff of the University of Hong Kong Date of death missing