Former Hong Kong Governor to Speak at Yale as Chubb Fellow

Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, former governor and commander-in-chief of Hong Kong, will speak at Yale University as the next Chubb Fellow. His talk, “Hong Kong: End or Beginning?” is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave. Lord Wilson’s lecture, free and open to the public, is jointly sponsored by the Chubb Fellowship and the Council on East Asian Studies of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies.

After studying at Oxford University, Lord Wilson entered the Foreign Service in 1958. He served in the British Embassy in Beijing, 1963-1965. From 1968 to 1972, he was editor of The China Quarterly, the leading academic journal in China, while pursuing his Ph.D. degree at London University. In 1974, he rejoined the British Public Service, working first in the Cabinet office, and then as political advisor in Hong Kong, responsible for relations with China. He also served in London as head of the Southern European Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 1984, he was named assistant under-secretary of state, responsible for Britain’s relations with Asia and the Pacific. During this time, he headed the British team on the Sino-British Working Group, which drafted the agreement on the future of Hong Kong. In 1987, he was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of Hong Kong, where he served until 1992.

Following his retirement, Lord Wilson was appointed chair of Scottish Hydro-Electric PLC in 1993. He is a member of the House of Lords, heads the Scottish Committee of the British Council and is chancellor of the University of Aberdeen.

The Chubb Fellowship is devoted to encouraging and aiding students interested in the operation of government and in public service careers. The program was established in 1936 by Hendon Chubb, a member of the Class of 1895S, and is based in Timothy Dwight College.