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Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's first Chief Executive who passed away on Tuesday, was born into one of the city's wealthiest families as the eldest son of the late shipping magnate Tung Chao-yung.
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Early life and education
Born in 1937 in Shanghai, Tung moved to Hong Kong as a child with his family during the civil war. He attended Chung Wah Middle School in Hong Kong, where he was a schoolmate of former Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung, before leaving for the United Kingdom in 1954 to study. He graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1960 with a degree in maritime engineering.
Career in shipping
After working in the United States for 10 years, including at General Electric, Tung joined the family business in 1965. In 1979, he took over as head of Orient Overseas, but the company soon faced a financial crisis amid the global shipping downturn. By 1985, the company was heavily in debt. A year later, the late CPPCC vice chairman Henry Fok led a US$120 million bailout, helping to keep the company afloat. By 1992, Tung had turned the company back to profitability.
From businessman to Chief Executive
Having spent years in business, Tung possessed an international perspective and working experience, and maintained good relations with political and business figures in Taiwan, the United States and elsewhere. His successful rescue of the family business demonstrated his crisis management skills and tenacity in safeguarding the family enterprise. It is widely believed these qualities earned him recognition from the central government and support from various sectors to run for the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong after the handover.
In 1996, he resigned as chairman and chief executive of Orient Overseas (International) Limited to stand for the election, handing over the family business to his younger brother Tung Chee-chen. He was successfully elected and took office on July 1, 1997, marking a significant chapter in Hong Kong's history.
Post-government career
After stepping down as Chief Executive in 2005, Tung was appointed as a Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a role he held until 2023.
He continued to be active in business. On June 16, 2014, he was invited to serve as an independent non-executive director of Alibaba Group. It was reported that Alibaba valued Tung's strategic vision, his experience as a business and government leader, and his long-standing experience in building and strengthening relations with both China and the United States.
Personal life
Tung was a lifelong Buddhist and a devoted Liverpool FC fan. He and his wife, Betty Tung, had three children and nine grandchildren.
His official birth date is listed as May 29, 1937, but his actual birth date was July 7, the day the Lugou Bridge Incident occurred in 1937, which sparked the Second Sino-Japanese War. It is widely believed Tung chose the later date to avoid association with the historical event.
