Bertrand de Speville

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Bertrand de Speville
de Speville in 2016
Commissioner of the ICAC
In office
22 February 1993 – 21 January 1996
GovernorChris Patten
Preceded byPeter Allan
Succeeded byMichael Leung
Solicitor General of Hong Kong
In office
1991–1993
Preceded byFrank Stock
Succeeded byDaniel Fung
Personal details
Born(1941-06-16)16 June 1941
Durban, South Africa
Died29 March 2020(2020-03-29) (aged 78)
London, England
SpouseCarol de Speville
Alma materUniversity College London
ProfessionLawyer

Bertrand Edouard Doger de Speville (Chinese: 施百偉, 16 June 1941 – 29 March 2020) was a Hong Kong government official who served as solicitor general and as the commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Biography[edit]

Born in Durban, South Africa, de Speville was raised in Salisbury (now called Harare), Southern Rhodesia. He moved to England in 1960 to study law at University College London, and was called to the bar in 1964.[1] He spent 10 years as a barrister in private practice followed by three years in the United Kingdom legal service. At the urging of then-Attorney General John Calvert Griffiths, de Speville moved to Hong Kong and joined the civil service in January 1981 as a deputy principal crown counsel. In October 1985 he was promoted to principal crown counsel.[1][2]

On 10 July 1992, de Speville formally took up the post of solicitor general, succeeding Frank Stock.[2] He had actually served in this role on an acting basis since 1991. He subsequently served as commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption from 22 February 1993 until 21 January 1996.[3]

After stepping down, de Speville returned to England and established de Speville and Associates, an anti-corruption consultancy, and advised various countries and agencies on strategies for combatting corruption.[4] He was elected as a bencher in 2007.[1] He died at home in Kew on 29 March 2020.[5][6][1]

Books[edit]

  • de Speville, Bertrand (1997). Hong Kong: Policy Initiatives Against Corruption. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. ISBN 9264160108.
  • de Speville, Bertrand (2010). Overcoming Corruption: The Essentials. de Speville & Associates. ISBN 0956478808.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Seabrook, Robert (2020). "Master Bertrand de Speville, 1941 – 2020". The Middle Templar Magazine. The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple: 133.
  2. ^ a b "New solicitor general appointed". Daily Information Bulletin. Government Information Services. 25 August 1992. p. 5.
  3. ^ "List of Commissioners" (PDF). Legislative Council. Independent Commission Against Corruption. 24 October 2006.
  4. ^ "Bertrand de Speville". Oral History Program, Innovations for Successful Societies. Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
  5. ^ Wong, Brian (31 March 2020). "Bertrand de Speville, former head of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, dies aged 78". South China Morning Post.
  6. ^ "ICAC says ex-commissioner de Speville dies". The Standard. 31 March 2020.