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Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government
Edmund Ho Hau Wah was born in Macao in March 1955, the son of the late Mr. Ho Yin, community leader and businessman, and Madam Chan Keng.
After completing his primary education, Ho went to study in Canada in 1969. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration from York University in 1978, and qualified as a chartered accountant and certified auditor in 1981. He was transferred to Hong Kong in 1982 from an accounting firm in Toronto.
He returned to Macao and started himself on a business and political career in 1983. Ho had diverse business interests such as accounting, finance and banking, insurance, public transportation, mass media, technology, land development, and public utilities. During this same period, he assumed various positions including auditor with KPMG Peat Marwick, Executive Director and General Manager of Tai Fung Bank, Chairman of the Macao Urban Transport Company Ltd. (the Transmac), Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Macao International Airport Co. (CAM), Vice Chairman of the General Assembly of Air Macao Company Ltd., Chairman of the Board of the MASC Ogden Aviation Services, Vice President of the Board of Directors of Macao Television Company, etc.
Ho's political career began in 1986 when he became a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Two years later, he was elected deputy to the seventh National People's Congress (NPC). He was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of both the eighth and ninth NPC.
Ho was involved in the preparatory work for Macao's return to China from the initial stages when the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macao came into effect. He was appointed Vice President of the Drafting Committee of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1988. The following year, he became Vice President of the Consultative Committee of the Basic Law of the MSAR. He was appointed Vice President of the Preparatory Committee of the MSAR in 1998. Ho was also Convenor of the Land Fund Investment Commission of the MSAR.
Edmund Ho was declared Chief Executive-elect on May 15, 1999 by the Selection Committee for the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR). He was then appointed Chief Executive-designate on May 24 of the same year by Premier of the State Council Zhu Rongji, and was formally sworn in as Chief Executive at a special ceremony marking the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region on December 20, 1999.
Ho was elected for a second term on August 29, 2004, and was formally appointed by the Central People's Government on September 20, 2004.
Over the years, Mr. Ho has been the leader of a number of industrial, financial, educational, charity, and sports institutions and associations. He has been Chairman of Macao Association of Banks since its founding in 1985, Vice President of the Macao Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Vice President of the Economic Council of the Macao Government, Vice Chairman of the Kiang Wu Hospital Board of Charity, Vice Chairman of the Tung Sin Tong Charitable Institution, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of Macao, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jinan University, Guangzhou, President of the Executive Committee of the Macao Olympic Committee, and President of the Macao Golf Association.
(China.org.cn March 1, 2007)
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