Christine Loh

Dr Christine Loh OBE, JP
Christine Loh Kung-wai at the CWMC 2006.
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 24 May 1998 – 10 September 2000
Preceded by	(none)
Succeeded by	abolished
Constituency	Hong Kong Island
Majority	12.76%
In office 17 September 1995 – 30 June 1997
Constituency	Island Central
Majority	65.32%
In office 1992[1] – 17 September 1995
Constituency	Appointed
Personal details
Born	(1956-02-01) 1 February 1956 Hong Kong
Political party	Citizens Party (defunct)
Domestic partner	Craig Ehrlich[2][3][4]
Alma mater	St. Paul's Convent School Island School Bedford High School University of Hull City University of Hong Kong
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Christine Loh Kung-wai, OBE, JP (born 1 February 1956), is Under Secretary for the Environment in Hong Kong.^[5]

She is a former Legislative Councillor, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange, founder of the Citizens Party, and founder of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor.

Until her appointment as Undersecretary for the Environment, Loh was CEO of Civic Exchange, the Hong Kong think tank that she co-founded in 2000. She was named "Woman of the Year for 2006" by Hong Kong Business.^[1] She has worked in many areas, including law, business, politics, media and the non-profit sector, but is best known as a leading voice in public policy in Hong Kong, particularly in promoting democracy and environmental protection. She has long been associated with the campaign to save Hong Kong's Harbour from excessive land reclamation and overdevelopment.

Loh received her Honourable degree on 15 July 2016 from University of Exeter for her contribution to environment protection.^[6] She said: "To be among the young graduates at Exeter makes me feel young and energetic again. It's like having a second chance to do better - to make up for not having done by best when I was a student. Perhaps like me when I was at my graduation many years ago, young people don't quite understand their capabilities and capacities yet. They will learn more about themselves in time and try hard to accomplish what they wish to do".

Education and professional career

Loh attended St. Paul's Convent School in Causeway Bay, and later Island School in Mid-levels, Hong Kong. She then went to Bedford High School in the UK. She later attended the University of Hull, City University of Hong Kong (Masters of Law in Chinese & Comparative Law) and the University of Hull (Doctor of Law, honoris causa) and was trained as a lawyer but she worked for 12 years as a commodities trader (1980–1991), rising to become managing director and later director of business development. Loh spent fourteen years in the commercial world, holding top regional posts in commodities trading at Philipp Brothers and Phibro Energy – the physical commodities trading arms of US multinational Salomon, Inc. (now Citicorp) — before joining a Hong Kong company (CIM Co.), where she headed the special projects division between 1992 and 1994. In April 2006, she was elected by shareholders of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) to be a director of the company.^[1]

Political career

Loh was appointed to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 1992. In 1995 and 1998 she ran in two direct elections and won by large margins.^[7] She co-founded, in 1995, the Society for Protection of the Harbour and was responsible for creating and sponsoring the historic Protection of the Harbour Ordinance.^[8] While part of the democratic camp in LegCo, she took a less confrontational approach than some, preferring to keep open lines of communication with the so-called pro-China camp.

In 2000, she and Lisa Hopkinson co-founded a Hong Kong-based non-profit think tank, Civic Exchange, and once again entered the political spotlight, but outside of the LegCo. She resigned as its chief executive on 11 September 2012 upon her appointment as Undersecretary for the Environment in the administration of CY Leung, taking up her new post the following day.^[9] At the same time, she resigned from all her positions in other non-profit organisations, academic affiliations, and non-executive directorships in commercial firms.

Other activities

From 1991, Loh hosted a public affairs radio programme and a variety of TV programmes.

Affiliations

• Chief Executive, Civic Exchange, 2000–present
• Chairperson, Hong Kong Observers, 1980s
• Chairperson, Friends of the Earth (HK), 1991–1992; 1993–1994
• Chairperson, Citizens Party (HK), 1997–2000
• Chairperson, Society for Protection of the Harbour, 2003-200?
• Council Member, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1999–2005
• Honorary Research Fellow, Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management, University of Hong Kong, 2001–2005
• Member, Advisory Committee, Securities and Futures Commission, 2001–2005
• Board Member, Community Business Advisory Member, International Advisor, Asia Society, USA
• Co-Chair, Human Rights in China, since 2005

Awards

• Woman of the Year () – 2006
• Outstanding Young Person’s Award 1988
• Communicator of the Year, 1994
• Stars of Asia, Businessweek, 1998
• Stars of Asia, Businessweek, 2000
• Entrepreneur of the Year (Women of Influence Award 2003)

References

External links

• Christine Loh's profile at Civic Exchange
• bio at rocky Mountain Institute