Ambrose Lee

Chief SecretaryUndersecretaryLai Tung-kwokPermanent SecretaryChang King-yiu [zh]Political AssistantVictor LoPreceded byRegina IpSucceeded byLai Tung-kwokCommissioner of the ICACIn office
1 July 2002 – 4 August 2003Preceded byAlan LaiSucceeded byRaymond WongDirector of ImmigrationIn office
1998–2002Preceded byRegina IpSucceeded byLai Tung-kwok Personal detailsBorn(1948-08-17)17 August 1948
British Hong KongDied14 August 2022(2022-08-14) (aged 73)
Hong KongChildrenGlen Lee Lam-yan [zh]EducationKowloon Technical SchoolAlma materUniversity of Hong Kong (BEng)Signature

Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong
Chinese	李少光
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Shàoguāng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping lei5 siu3 gwong1

Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong GBS IDSM (Chinese: 李少光; 17 August 1948 – 14 August 2022) was a Hong Kong politician who held the position of Secretary for Security between 2003 and 2012. He previously served as the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) between 2002 and 2003, and as the Director of Immigration between 1998 and 2002.^[1][2]

Education

Lee studied in Kowloon Technical School from 1961 to 1968, during which (after graduating secondary five) he studied in the Hong Kong Technical College (now Hong Kong Polytechnic University) for a month. Lee received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hong Kong.^[3]

Lee received professional training from Tsinghua University, University of Oxford, and Harvard University.^[4]

Career

Lee joined the civil service in 1974 as an immigration officer, rising through the ranks to become Assistant Director in 1995 and Deputy Director in 1997. He then served as the Director of Immigration from October 1998 to 2002.^[1][2]

In July 2002, Lee was appointed as Commissioner of the ICAC by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, becoming the first Commissioner to have come from the disciplined services.^[1]

In August 2003, Lee joined Tung's administration as Secretary for Security, succeeding Regina Ip, who resigned after massive public protests over a proposed national security law. He steered the government's response to protests at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2005 and to the 2010 Manila hostage crisis. Retiring on 30 June 2012, Lee served in the Hong Kong government for a total of 38 years and became the longest serving Secretary for Security (as of 2022).^[1][2][5]

After retirement, Lee served as a local deputy to the National People’s Congress between 2013 and 2018,^[6] and often made headlines for his controversial remarks on current affairs.^[2] In 2016, he described young people involved in the 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest as "beasts" who had lost their conscience.^[7]

Personal life

Lee has two children, including his only son,^[5] Glen Lee Lam-yan [zh], who has been an artiste for local broadcaster TVB for more than two decades (as of 2022). Glen has told the media that the development of his acting career was limited by his father's post in the government, saying that he was always assigned to play "positive" roles.^[2]

Death

Lee died in his sleep at his Sha Tin home on 14 August 2022, three days before his 74th birthday. He had earlier required hospitalisation after a fall that resulted in broken ribs.^[1][2][6]

References

Political offices
Preceded by Regina Ip	Secretary for Security 2003–2012	Succeeded by Lai Tung-kwok
Civic offices
Preceded by Regina Ip	Director of Immigration 1998–2002	Succeeded by Lai Tung-kwok
Preceded by Alan Lai	Commissioner, Independent Commission Against Corruption 2002–2003	Succeeded by Raymond Wong
Order of precedence
Preceded by Anthony Wu Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star	Hong Kong order of precedence Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star	Succeeded by York Chow Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star