Edward Youde

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

26^th Governor of Hong Kong
Sir Edward (Teddy) Youde
In office 20 May 1982 – 4 December 1986
Preceded by	Lord MacLehose of Beoch
Succeeded by	Lord Wilson of Tillyorn

Born	June 19, 1924(1924-06-19)
Died	December 4, 1986 (aged 62) Beijing, China
Alma mater	University of London
Profession	diplomat, sinologist, colonial administrator

Sir Edward Youde (Chinese: 尤德) GCMG, GCVO, MBE (19 June 1924 - 5 December 1986 in Beijing, China) was a British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. He served as Governor of Hong Kong between 20 May 1982 and 5 December 1986.

[edit] Early Years

Youde was born in the United Kingdom and attended University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He was fluent in Chinese (Mandarin) and spent 10 of his 30 years as a diplomat in China.

[edit] Govenorship

Youde is mainly remembered as the Governor during whose time in office the Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong was signed in Peking in 1984. This, amongst other things, made it clear that the British would leave Hong Kong in 1997 after 156 years of colonial rule.

Youde, Hong Kong's only Welsh Governor, was widely liked for his pleasant, kindly demeanour and greatly admired for his formidable erudition. He was widely respected by the Chinese population of Hong Kong.

The idea of setting up a secondary school to develop students' potenial in sport and the visual arts together with a normal academic syllabus was first mooted by Sir Edward Youde. Based upon this idea, the Jockey Club Ti-I College was founded in 1989.

[edit] Death and after

During a visit to Peking, Sir Edward suffered a fatal heart attack in the British Embassy in the early morning of 5 December 1986, while he was sleeping. He was the only Governor of Hong Kong to have died in office and many thousands lined the streets for his "state" funeral, which was conducted with the highest military honours in 1986. A fund, known as the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund, was created from public contributions upon the recommendation of the Legislative Council. The fund is currently administered by the HKSAR Government and offers a number of scholarships and sponsorship schemes aimed at encouraging and promoting the education of and research by Hong Kong people.

The Edward Youde Aviary in Hong Kong Park was named after him in 1992 and the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Hong Kong was named after his wife. A plaque to his memory was commissioned by the Hong Kong Civil Service and placed on the wall of St John's Cathedral, in the Central District of Hong Kong; a memorial plaque was also installed in Canterbury Cathedral, England, where his ashes were laid.

Political offices
Preceded by Lord MacLehose of Beoch	Governor of Hong Kong 1982 - 1986	Succeeded by Sir David Akers-Jones (Acting Governor)
Preceded by Lord MacLehose of Beoch	President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong 1982 - 1986	Succeeded by Sir David Akers-Jones (Acting Governor)

v • d • e Governors of Hong Kong

Pottinger • Davis • Bonham • Bowring • H. Robinson • MacDonnell • Kennedy • Hennessy • Bowen • Des Vœux • W. Robinson • Blake • Nathan • Lugard • May • Stubbs • Clementi • Peel • Caldecott • Northcote • Young • Grantham • Black • Trench • MacLehose • Youde • Wilson • Patten