Sir John Henry Bremridge (彭勵治爵士),
KBE,
JPUniversity of Oxford Gazette
, retrieved 6 May 2006 (12 July 1925 – 6 May 1994) was Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
The Financial Secretary () is the title held by the Hong Kong government minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters (“Department of Finance” per Article 60 of the Basic Law). The position is among the three most sen ...
from 1981 to 1986. He was the first Financial Secretary who was not a civil servant.
Early life
Bremridge was born in 1925 in Transvaal, in what was then the Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tr ...
to British parents (his father was Godfrey Bremridge
Flight Lieutenant Godfrey Bremridge (1 March 1895 – 12 September 1941) was a World War I flying ace who was credited with five victories.
Early life
On 1 March 1895, Bremridge was born in Winkleigh, Devon, England. His father was Reverend ...
) on an orange farm, but left in 1933 for Britain where he grew up.
Career
He served in the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
(Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Ri ...
) during World War II (1943-1947), read law at Oxford
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 ...
before joining Swire in 1949 where he rose as was a senior member of staff in the John Swire and Sons (Hong Kong) (Swire Group
Swire Group () is a Hong Kong- and London-based British conglomerate. Many of its core businesses can be found within the Asia Pacific region, where traditionally Swire's operations have centred on Hong Kong and mainland China. Within Asia, ...
) and held various corporate boards:
Hong Kong Government
In the 1980s he left the private sector to become Financial Secretary and remained until 1986 to return to the corporate world. During his tenure, he experienced the economic uncertainties that stemmed from the Sino-British negotiations that led to the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. In order to stabilise the economy, he pegged the Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong ...
to the United States dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
at a rate of HK$7.8 to US$1, thus instituting the linked exchange rate system in Hong Kong
A linked exchange rate system is a type of exchange rate regime that pegs the exchange rate of one currency to another. It is the exchange rate system implemented in Hong Kong to stabilise the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and t ...
. Both Bremridge and his successor Piers Jacobs
Sir Piers Jacobs (; 27 May 1933 – 23 September 1999) was Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1991, a period that included the 1987 market crash, when he oversaw the closure of the stock exchange and notably refused to bail out the ...
considered introducing a Sales Tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a gove ...
but had failed.
He contributed to the growth restrictions imposed on Dragonair
Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (), also known as Cathay Dragon () and Dragonair, was a Hong Kong-based international regional airline, with its corporate headquarters and main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. In the final year be ...
, the second Hong Kong-based airline at that time, by introducing a “one route, one carrier” policy aimed at maintaining Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have ...
’s local monopoly. Due to this policy, Dragonair shifted its focus to unserved secondary mainland China markets.
Later life
Bremridge's health suffered after a fall in 1987 and never fully recovered, dying in 1994 in London.
References
British expatriates in Hong Kong
Financial Secretaries of Hong Kong
Government officials of Hong Kong
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Swire Group
1925 births
1994 deaths
HK LegCo Members 1985–1988
Hong Kong people of British descent
Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
Schroders people
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