Woo Pak-chuen (; 10 January 1910 – 30 April 2008) was a prominent politician and lawyer of

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 Delta i ...

. He was former 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 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 ...

. From 1972 to 1973, he was the Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council.

Career

Woo graduated from St. Joseph's College, Hong Kong in 1928 and from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1937. He was the first Chinese to be awarded a Ph.D. by the Faculty of Law of the University of London in 1939 and was the only practising lawyer in Hong Kong with a British Ph.D. in Law. In 1945, Woo founded his own law firm P C Woo & Co Solicitor and became the President of the

Law Society of Hong Kong The Law Society of Hong Kong is the professional association and law society for solicitors in Hong Kong, established in 1907. The Hong Kong Bar Association is the equivalent association for barristers in Hong Kong. The Law Society is currentl ...

between 1959 and 1960. In the 1953 municipal election, Woo ran for the four elected seats in the

Urban Council of Hong Kong 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 Services ...

with

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 ...

, Raymond Harry Shoon Lee and Philip Au for the

Reform Club of Hong Kong The Reform Club of Hong Kong was one of the oldest political organisations in Hong Kong, existing from 1949 until the mid-1990s. Established by expatriates who were concerned about the Young Plan proposed by Governor Mark Aitchison Young in 1 ...

. He continued to be reelected to the Urban Council until he was defeated to

Hilton Cheong-Leen Hilton Cheong-Leen, CBE, JP (; 6 August 1922 – 4 January 2022) was a Hong Kong politician and businessman. He is the longest uninterrupted serving elected officeholder in Hong Kong history as an elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Ko ...

of the Hong Kong Civic Association. Woo was subsequently appointed to the

on 1 July 1964. He was reappointed in 1972 and was the Senior Unofficial Member for ten years until his retirement on 30 June 1973. 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 ...

from 1972 to 1976. Woo also oversaw the establishment of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

with the contribution to the drafting of the Ordinance of the university and was a Life Council Member of the university since it was established as the Provisional Council. He had also been appointed member of the Board of Education of Hong Kong. He was also a Life Court Member of 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 ...

since 1988. In 1974, he was awarded the honorary degree of the Doctor of Law by the Chinese University for his contribution to the education affairs. Woo was also director in many public companies in Hong Kong. He was Independent Non-Executive Director of the

Liu Chong Hing Bank Chong Hing Bank is a bank founded in Hong Kong in 1948. It is headquartered in Central, while the back offices are located in Western District and Mong Kok. It was owned by the Liu family of Hong Kong until it was acquired by the Chinese state ...

from 1972 until he retired in 2004. He also held posts such as Director of the Sun Hung Kai Financial Limited and Chairman of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company and Hong Kong Yakult Company and various other posts.

Family

Woo was son of the wealthy merchant Woo Hay-tong. His brother,

Woo Pak-foo Dr Woo Pak Foo, OBE, JP was the medical participator and member of the Urban Council in Hong Kong between 1956 and 1969. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with bachelor's degree of Medicine and Surgery and a Licentiate in Midwife ...

was also an Urban Councillor. He was also member of the influential

Li family Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...

. He was the grandson-in-law's brother of the merchant Li Shek-pang, whose many family members were Executive and Legislative Councillors as well as judges and lawyers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woo, Pak-chuen 1910 births 2008 deaths Solicitors of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong Reform Club of Hong Kong politicians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of London