Michael Graham Ruddock Sandberg, Baron Sandberg,

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 ...

(, 31 May 1927 – 2 July 2017) was executive chairman of

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

from 1977 to 1986.

Biography

Sandberg was born in Surrey and educated at

St Edward's School, Oxford St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'. Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...

. In 1945 he joined the army and was commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

in 1946, and was promoted to lieutenant in November 1947. He later volunteered to join the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Upon Indian independence he joined the First King's Dragoon Guards in January 1949. In 1949 he joined

, becoming Chairman and Chief Executive in 1977. During his chairmanship the bank saw substantial international expansion, acquiring a 51% stake in

Marine Midland Bank Marine Midland Bank was an American bank formerly headquartered in Buffalo, New York, with several hundred branches throughout the state of New York. In 1998, branches extended to Pennsylvania. It was acquired by HSBC in 1980, and changed its na ...

in the United States of America, establishing the Hongkong Bank of Canada in 1981 and HongkongBank of Australia Limited in 1986. As Chairman Sandberg was responsible for the construction of the landmark

HSBC Main Building HSBC Main Building is a headquarters building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which is today a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings. It is located on the southern side of Statue Square near the location of the ...

Central, Hong Kong Central (also Central District) is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon ...

, which at the time was the most expensive building ever constructed in the world. Having been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1977 and promoted to a Commander (CBE) in 1982, on retirement he received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

for "public services in Hong Kong". On 2 October 1997 he was created a life peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

as Baron Sandberg of Passfield in the

County of Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is ...

. He retired from the House on 8 May 2015. He died on 2 July 2017 at the age of 90.

References

External links

Lord Sandberg
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats } {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandberg, Michael 1927 births 2017 deaths Chairmen of HSBC Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Armoured Corps officers