Lydia Dunn, Baroness Dunn

The Right Honourable The Baroness Dunn DBE, JP
Life peer in the House of Lords
In office 24 August 1990 – 29 June 2010
Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council
In office 1985-1988
Governor	Edward Youde David Akers-Jones David Wilson
Appointed by	Edward Youde
Preceded by	Rogerio Hyndman Lobo
Succeeded by	Allen Lee
Senior Chinese Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council
In office 1985-1988
Governor	Edward Youde David Akers-Jones David Wilson
Appointed by	Edward Youde
Preceded by	Harry Fang
Succeeded by	Allen Lee
Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council
In office 1988-1995
Governor	David Wilson David Robert Ford Chris Patten
Appointed by	David Wilson
Preceded by	Sze-Yuen Chung
Succeeded by	Rosanna Wong
Senior Chinese Unofficial Member of the Executive Council
In office 1988-1995
Governor	David Wilson David Robert Ford Chris Pattern
Appointed by	David Wilson
Preceded by	Sze-Yuen Chung
Succeeded by	Rosanna Wong
Chairlady of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council
In office 1983-1991
Preceded by	Yuet Keung Kan
Succeeded by	Victor Fung
Personal details
Born	29 February 1940 (1940-02-29) Hong Kong
Spouse(s)	Michael David Thomas
Alma mater	St. Paul's Convent School College of the Holy Names University of California, Berkeley

Lydia Selina Dunn, Baroness Dunn, DBE, JP (Chinese: 鄧蓮如; Mandarin Pinyin: Dèng Liánrú; Jyutping: dang6 lin4 jyu4; born 29 February 1940) was the Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council in Hong Kong in 1985-1988 and 1988-1995, after Rogerio Hyndman Lobo and Chung Sze Yuen respectively. She has been deputy chairman of banking giant HSBC in 1992-2008.

As one of the most senior politicians in Hong Kong, Dunn had considerable influence in the Government of Hong Kong before her retirement in 1992, after Chris Patten was made Governor.

Personal life

Born in Hong Kong to Yen Chuen Yih Dunn and Bessie Dunn on 29 February 1940, Lydia Dunn is married to Michael David Thomas (唐明治), CMG, QC, Attorney General of Hong Kong from 1983 to 1988.

Education

She was educated at St. Paul's Convent School in Hong Kong, and at the College of the Holy Names and the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

She joined the Swire Group in 1964 and now she is an Executive Director of John Swire & Sons Limited and a Director of Swire Pacific Limited. She was appointed to a seat on the Legislative Council in 1976.

Being a non-executive director since 1990 and a non-executive Deputy Chairman in 1992-2008 of the HSBC Group, she also served as a non-executive director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited from 1981 to 1996.

Honours and titles

Dunn was created a DBE in 1989. In 1990 she was made a life peer as Baroness Dunn, of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong and of Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and so became a member of the House of Lords. In July 2010, it was announced that Baroness Dunn had given up her seat in the Lords in order to retain her non-domiciled tax status following the passing of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

• Miss Lydia Dunn (1940-1976)
• Lydia Dunn, JP (1976-1978)
• Lydia Dunn, OBE, JP (1978-1983)
• Lydia Dunn, CBE, JP (1983-1989)
• Dame Lydia Dunn, DBE, JP (1989-1990)
• The Right Honourable The Baroness Dunn, DBE, JP (1990-)

Book

• In the Kingdom of the Blind (1983)

References

• Dod's Parliamentary Communications biography. Retrieved March 11 2006. Non-subscribers of Dodonline.co.uk can gain access to the full biography through British Parliament homepage
• Forbes.com profile. Retrieved February 9 2005.
• Buckingham University honorary graduates profile. Retrieved February 9 2005.
• HSBC board of directors profile. Retrieved February 9 2005.