Hong Kong’s chief executive, appointed in 2022, has certainly worked his way up from the bottom. Born into a working class family in the city, he left school without attending university and joined the police force in 1977 aged 19 as a probationary inspector. He made his way up through the ranks while taking on a wide variety of roles over the decades, from CID to planning to internal affairs, eventually becoming assistant commissioner in 2003 and deputy commissioner in 2010.

He was tapped for a job in the SAR government in 2012, becoming its undersecretary for security and then, five years later, its secretary for security. He was promoted to chief secretary for administration, the second most powerful job in Hong Kong’s government, in 2021, and ascended to the top role the following year, becoming the third leader in Hong Kong’s history to come from a policing background.

While working as a police officer, he studied for a master’s in public policy and administration at Australia’s Charles Sturt University. The holder of a Silver Bauhinia Star, he is married to Janet Lam, with whom he has two sons, Gilbert and Jacky.