John James Cowperthwaite
| The Honourable Sir John James Cowperthwaite KBE, CMG | |
|---|---|
| Financial Secretary of Hong Kong | |
| In office 17 April 1961 – 30 June 1971 |
|
| Governor | Sir Robert Black Sir David Trench |
| Preceded by | Arthur Grenfell Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Charles Philip Haddon-Cave |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1915 Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Died | 21 January 2006 (aged 90) Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Spouse(s) | Sheila Mary Thomson |
| Children | John James Hamish Cowperthwaite |
| Alma mater | Merchiston Castle School St Andrews University Christ's College |
Sir John James Cowperthwaite KBE CMG (郭伯偉爵士)[citation needed], (April 25, 1915 – January 21, 2006) was a British civil servant and the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1961 to 1971. His introduction of free market economic policies are widely credited with turning postwar Hong Kong into a thriving global financial centre.
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[edit] Early years
Cowperthwaite attended Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Scotland, and later studied classics at St Andrews University and Christ's College, Cambridge. He joined the British Colonial Administrative Service in Hong Kong in 1941, but left briefly during World War II to a posting in Sierra Leone.
[edit] Hong Kong
He returned to Hong Kong in 1945 and continued to rise through the ranks. He was asked to find ways in which the government could boost post-war economic outlook, but he found the economy was recovering swiftly without any government intervention. He took the lesson to heart, and positive non-interventionism became the focus of his economic policy as Financial Secretary. He refused to collect economic statistics for fear it would encourage officials to meddle in the economy.[1]
He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1960, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1964, and knighted in 1968. He was highly praised by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman just before his death.[1]
Commentators have credited his management of the Hong Kong economy as a leading example of how small government encourage growth.[2] However his starting of a large public housing programme which made the Hong Kong Government the world’s biggest landlord and the setting up of the Hong Kong Jockey Club as the region's monopoly in gambling business are rarely mentioned.[2][3]
[edit] Post–civil service career
After leaving his retirement, Cowperthwaite was international adviser to Jardine Fleming, the Hong Kong-based investment bank until 1981. He retired and left Hong Kong for St Andrews, Scotland and became a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Cowperthwaite married Sheila Thomson in 1941, they had one son. He died in Scotland on January 21, 2006, aged 90; his son predeceased him.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: John James Cowperthwaite |
- Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story · Watch on 4OD · Play on 4OD Player
- Tribute to John James Cowperthwaite by The Lion Rock Institute of Hong Kong
- Sir John Cowperthwaite obituary from the Daily Telegraph
- Sir John Cowperthwaite obituary from The Guardian
- Hong Kong's Nightwatchman by Tim Worstall
- The Hong Kong Experiment by Milton Friedman
| Preceded by: Arthur Grenfell Clarke |
Financial Secretary of Hong Kong 1961-1971 |
Succeeded by: Sir Charles Philip Haddon-Cave |
