David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn

David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn
The Right Honourable
The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn
KT GCMG PRSE
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Incumbent
Assumed office
2010
Preceded by George Reid
President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Incumbent
Assumed office
2008
Preceded by Sir Michael Atiyah
Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
In office
2002–2008
Preceded by Sir John Meurig Thomas
Succeeded by Adrian Dixon
27th Governor of Hong Kong
In office
9 April 1987 – 9 July 1992
Preceded by Sir Edward Youde
Succeeded by The Lord Patten of Barnes
Personal details
Born 14 February 1935 (1935-02-14) (age 76)
Scotland
Spouse(s) Natasha Helen Mary
Alma mater Keble College, Oxford, University of London, University of Hong Kong
Profession colonial administrator, diplomat, sinologist

David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, KT, GCMG, PRSE (born 14 February 1935) is a retired British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn was the penultimate Commander-in-Chief and 27th Governor of Hong Kong (from 1987 to 1992). He served as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the British Monarch's representative to the Assembly, in 2010 and 2011.

Contents

Early life and career

Wilson was born in Scotland and was educated at Glenalmond and Keble College, Oxford (1955–58, Master of Arts), and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (Ph.D. in contemporary Chinese history, obtained in 1973). He studied Chinese at the University of Hong Kong from 1960 to 1962 and then served in the British Mission in Beijing.

In 1968 Wilson resigned from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to edit The China Quarterly at the School of Oriental and African Studies. After rejoining the Diplomatic Service in 1974 he worked in the Cabinet Office and then, from 1977 to 1981, as Political Adviser to Sir Murray MacLehose, then Governor of Hong Kong. Following that he became Head of Southern European Department in the FCO and then Assistant Under Secretary for Asia and the Pacific during which time he was Head of the British side of the Working Group engaged in drafting the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong and then, in 1984, the first Senior British Representative on the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (中英聯合聯絡小組) set up under the Joint Declaration. When Sir Edward Youde passed away in Beijing on 5 December 1986, Wilson replaced him to become the Governor of Hong Kong in 1987.

Name in Chinese

When Wilson studied Mandarin at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he was given the Chinese name Wèi Déwéi (Chinese: 魏德巍; Jyutping: Ngai6 Dak1-ngai4); "Wei" was short for "Wilson", while "Dewei" is a common Chinese transliteration of David. However, when he arrived in Hong Kong to take up the position of colonial governor, it was noted that the Cantonese pronunciation of his earlier name sounded almost nothing like his actual anme, and too much like "hypocrisy to the extent of dangerousness" (偽得危). There was also concern about the surname and the third character, each of which are formed from components meaning which "1,800 female ghosts" (千八女鬼); some local media reports referred to the name as "two ghosts knocking at the door" (雙鬼拍門). As such, he then changed his name to Wei Yixin (Chinese: 衛奕信; Jyutping: Wai6 Jik6-seon3), which in addition to having a more favourable meaning, was composed of 33 strokes, said to be a lucky number.[1][2]

Hong Kong governorship

As Governor, Wilson had to deal with the fallout in Hong Kong from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. He also encountered the Vietnamese refugee problem, which steadily grew worse and led to the 1988 policy of repatriating those found not to qualify for refugee status (see bắt đầu từ nay). In October 1989, Wilson proposed, in the Governor's Annual Policy Address, the building of an airport on Lantau Island, known as the Rose Garden Project (玫瑰園計劃 see Hong Kong International Airport). The proposal was created out of concern that the then-current airport at Kai Tak, which had been in use since the beginning of Aviation in Hong Kong, was not equipped to handle modern aviation needs.

Wilson left Hong Kong in June 1992 following the completion of his five year term as Governor. Before his retirement Wilson embarked on political reforms that paved the way for eighteen legislators of the Legislative Council to be directly elected by the people of Hong Kong.

Post-governorship

After his governorship and the elevation to a life peerage with the title Baron Wilson of Tillyorn,[3] of Finzean in the District of Kincardine and Deeside and of Fanling in Hong Kong in 1991, Wilson became the Chairman of the energy company Scottish Hydro Electric plc. (later Scottish and Southern Energy) based in Perth, Scotland from 1993 - 2000. He was a member of the Board of the British Council (and Chairman of its Scottish Committee) from 1993–2002; a Director of the Martin Currie Pacific Trust from 1993–2002 and Chairman of the Trustees of the National Museums of Scotland from 2002-06. In 1996 he was appointed a Vice-President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society; and he has been Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen since 1997. He was President of the Bhutan Society of the UK (1993–2008), the Hong Kong Society (1994- ) and the Hong Kong Association (1994- ). Wilson was made a Knight of the Thistle in 2000. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge from 2002 to 2008. Since October 2008 he has been President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Sir John Arbuthnott has been elected as his successor[4]. In January 2010 he was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2010.

Places named after him

The 78-kilometre Wilson Trail, containing ten hiking segments aligned north-south in Hong Kong, is named after him, as is the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust (衛奕信勳爵文物信託) based in Wanchai, established in December 1992 to preserve Hong Kong's historical culture.

Personal life

Wilson has been married to Natasha Helen Mary since 1967. They have two sons, Peter (a diplomat) and Andrew (a Church of England clergyman).

Criticisms

Wilson was criticised by the pro-democracy camp for not moving more quickly towards a fully elected Legislature based on universal suffrage and for paying too much attention to the views of the Government in China in agreeing arrangements for a process of increasing the number of fully elected seats up to and beyond the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.[citation needed]

Honours

  • KT
  • GCMG
  • Honorary Fellowship of Keble College from 1986/87
  • Honorary degrees from the University of Aberdeen (19??), University of Sydney (1991), University of Abertay Dundee (1994), Chinese University of Hong Kong (1996) and the University of Hong Kong (2006)

Styles

  • Mr. David Wilson (1935–1973)
  • Dr. David Wilson (1973–1987)
  • Sir David Wilson, KCMG (1987–1991)
  • The Rt Hon. The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, GCMG (1991–2000)
  • The Rt Hon. The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, KT, GCMG (since 2000)

References

External links

Government offices
Preceded by
Sir Edward Youde
President of the Legislative Council
1987 – 1992
Succeeded by
Chris Patten
Governor of Hong Kong
1987 – 1992
Academic offices
Preceded by
Sir Kenneth Alexander
Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen
1997 – present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Sir John Meurig Thomas
Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
2002 – 2008
Succeeded by
Adrian Dixon
Preceded by
Sir Michael Atiyah
President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
2008 – October 2011
Succeeded by
Sir John Arbuthnott


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn — David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn KT, GCMG (* 14. Februar 1935) ist ein britischer Administrator, Sinologe und Diplomat. Wilson war von 9. April 1987 bis zum 9. Juli 1992 der 27. Gouverneur von Hongkong. Gleichzeitig war er President… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Wilson — ist der Name folgender Personen: David Wilson (Gouverneur) (1838–1924), britischer Kolonialgouverneur Davie Wilson (Fußballspieler, 1884) (1884–?), schottischer Fußballspieler David Wilson (* 1939), schottischer Fußballspieler, siehe Davie Wilson …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Wilson — Contents 1 In arts and literature 2 In entertainment 3 In government …   Wikipedia

  • Wilson (Familienname) — Wilson ist ein englischer Familienname. Herkunft und Bedeutung Der Name bedeutet Sohn des Wil. Somit handelt es sich um einen patronymisch gebildeten Namen. Verbreitung 1990 war Wilson in den USA der achthäufigste Familienname.[1] Varianten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Baron Wilson (disambiguation) — Baron Wilson is a title created in 1946 for Sir Henry Maitland Wilson.Baron Wilson or Lord Wilson may also refer to: *Henry Wilson, Baron Wilson of Langside (1916 1997) *Paul Wilson, Baron Wilson of High Wray (1908 1980) *Harold Wilson, Baron… …   Wikipedia

  • Wilson Trail — The Wilson Trail (zh t|t=衛奕信徑) is a 78 km long distance footpath in Hong Kong. It was named after David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, who was Governor of Hong Kong from 1987 to 1992. The Wilson Trail was developed by Friends of the Country… …   Wikipedia

  • List of people with surname Wilson — Wilson is a common surname of English and Scottish origin. Some notable individuals with the surname Wilson include:A* A. N. Wilson (1950 ), English author * Alex Wilson (1905–1994), Canadian track and field athlete * Alexander Wilson (1776 1813) …   Wikipedia

  • Royal Society of Edinburgh — Abbreviation RSE Formation 1783 Type Educational charity …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Wil — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Chris Patten — This article is about Lord Patten of Barnes. For the other Lord Patten, see John Patten, Baron Patten. The Right Honourable The Lord Patten of Barnes CH PC …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”