Chief Executive of Hong Kong Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, the representative of the Monarch of the United Kingdom during British rule. The office, stipulated by the Hong Kong Basic Law, formally came into being on 1 July 1997 when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. The functions of the Chief Executive (CE) include nominating
Governor of Hong Kong of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison. Authorities and duties of the governor were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions in 1843. The governor, appointed by the British monarch (on the advice of the Foreign Secretary), exercised the executive branch of the Government of Hong Kong throughout British sovereignty and, with the exception of a brief experiment after World War II, no serious attempt was made to introduce representative government, until the final years of British rule. The Governor of Hong Kong chaired the colonial cabinet, the Executive Council (ExCo), and, until 1993, was also