Crawford Murray MacLehose of Beoch

Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch KT, GBE, KCMG, KCVO, PC, HonLLD, MA (October 16, 1917 - May 27, 2000) was the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. MacLehose was born in Glasgow, Scotland in October 1917 and attended Balliol College, University of Oxford. Before being appointed Governor of Hong Kong, he served at the British Embassy in Peking and was British Ambassador to Denmark until 1971.

Related Topics:
KT - GBE - KCMG - KCVO - PC - HonLLD - MA - October 16 - 1917 - May 27 - 2000 - Governor of Hong Kong - 1971 - 1982 - Glasgow - Scotland - Balliol College - University of Oxford - Ambassador - Denmark

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He was Governor of Hong Kong from November 1971 to May 1982, making him Hong Kong's longest serving governor; his ten and a half years in office slighty exceeding Sir Alexander Grantham's ten years and 5 months.

Related Topics:
1971 - 1982 - Alexander Grantham

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During his Governorship, MacLehose announced the Ten-year Housing Programme in 1972 and, in 1974, established the ICAC, the Independent Commission Against Corruption. This sparked off a massive act of disobedience and a certain amount of violence amongst serving police officers who feared prosecution for their long years of corrupt behaviour in "the best police force that money can buy". In order to defuse the situation, MacLehose issued a general amnesty, a measure which, although effective, caused considerable misgivings, especially amongst those relatively few police officers who had resisted the temptation to lapse into corrupt practices. Eventually, however, the ICAC helped Hong Kong become one of the least corrupt societies in Asia, if not the world.

Related Topics:
1972 - 1974 - ICAC

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Other major policies in the MacLehose era include the introduction of 9 years of compulsory education, the passing of the Labour Ordinance, the establishment of the social assistance scheme, the building of the Mass Transit Railway, the expansion of community facilities and the development of satellite towns, such as Sha Tin and Tuen Mun.

Related Topics:
Mass Transit Railway - Sha Tin - Tuen Mun

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In 1979, MacLehose raised the question of Britain's 99-year lease of the New Territories, north of Boundary Street on the Kowloon Peninsula, with Deng Xiaoping. The talks paved the way for the handover of the entire territory of Hong Kong, including those parts ceded to the UK in perpetuity, to the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997. MacLehose returned to Hong Kong to attend the handover ceremony.

Related Topics:
1979 - New Territories - Deng Xiaoping - People's Republic of China - July 1 - 1997

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Knighted in 1983, MacLehose was made a life peer as Baron MacLehose of Beoch of Maybole in the District of Kyle and Carrick and of Victoria in Hong Kong in 1982.

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He died in Ayrshire, Scotland in May 2000.

Related Topics:
Ayrshire - Scotland

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Murray MacLehose was an enthusiastic and indefatigable hiker and the 100-kilometre MacLehose Trail, containing ten hiking segments stretching from Sai Kung to Tsuen Wan in Hong Kong, is, appropriately, named after him.

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The MacLehose Medical Rehabilition Centre, the MacLehose Dental Centre, the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village, and the Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund also commemorate him or his wife.

Related Topics:
MacLehose Medical Rehabilition Centre - MacLehose Dental Centre - Lady MacLehose Holiday Village - Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund

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Well over six feet tall and very decidedly Scottish, albeit after a somewhat aristocratic fashion, MacLehose looked every inch the benign and genial colonial governor. Despite this, he always felt very much ill at ease in his gubernatorial uniform and took great pains to avoid wearing it. He was widely and affectionately known as "Jock the Sock", in reference both to his heritage and to his name.

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