Murray MacLehose: the ‘lanky Scotsman’ who became governor of Hong Kong
- The BBC pipped the colonial government to the post when it came to announcing MacLehose’s appointment
- ‘The new Governor is a man who has seen the inside of a Japanese prison camp [and] China’s communist revolution,’ the Post reported
“BBC’s gaffe on MacLehose,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on October 15, 1970. The British broadcaster had surprised Hongkongers “by announcing in its 10pm news bulletin from London that the new Governor would be Mr Murray MacLehose”. When the Post called to confirm the source of the report, it turned out that no official statement had yet been made.
Confirmation of MacLehose’s appointment followed in a government statement issued that day, which read: “The term of office of the present Governor of Hongkong, Sir David Trench, expires in 1971. Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mr C. M. MacLehose, at present Ambassador in Copenhagen, as his successor.”
In an interview with RTV, MacLehose said, “My feeling is one of being somewhat daunted and very humbled at the thought of having this entrusted to me.”
MacLehose served in Malaya in World War II. His diplomatic career began in 1946. He was political adviser to the governor of Hong Kong from 1959 to 1962.
“The new Governor is a man who has seen the inside of a Japanese prison camp, China’s communist revolution and the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam,” reported the Post on November 17, 1971. “The lanky Scotsman is both proof and symbol of Hongkong’s changing role,” it continued, adding that “Sir Murray hopes Hongkong will be London’s bridge to Peking.”
“Sir Murray would like the Colony’s lagging social standards to catch up with its phenomenal economic advances so that Hongkong can become a model of civic progress […]”
MacLehose arrived in Hong Kong on November 19 to begin his term as the colony’s 25th governor. After being sworn in at City Hall, MacLehose said: “I am confident that Hongkong will continue to flourish and grow […] to find new outlets for the skill and ingenuity of the people.”
