David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn
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David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, KT (born February 14, 1935) was a British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. Lord Wilson was the second to last Commander-in-Chief and Governor of Hong Kong (from 1987 to 1992).
Lord Wlison was born in Scotland, he educated in Trinity College, Glenalmond, Keble College, Oxford, and the University of London (Ph.D. in contemporary history, (1955-1958), Master of Arts). He studied the Chinese language from 1960 to 1962 in Hong Kong while he worked as the Political advisor for Sir Robert Brown Black, the Governor of Hong Kong, named in Chinese as 魏德維, and 1963-1965 in Beijing. His original Chinese name before the governorship was Wèi Déwéi (魏德巍 Jyutping: Ngai6 Dak1-ngai4), but after the local media started to describe the name with the phrase "Two Ghosts Knocking on the Door" (雙鬼拍門, due to the Chinese character for "ghost" appearing twice in the name, embedded in the other characters), he changed it to Wèi Yìxìn (衛奕信 Wai6 Jik6-seon3) to better transliterate his family name into Cantonese.
From 1977 to 1981, Wilson was a consultant of Lord MacLehose of Beoch, the Governor of Hong Kong. Then he was a diplomat to southern Europe. In 1984, he worked on diplomatic matters with Asia-Pacific. He was a British delegate in the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (中英聯合聯絡小組) in 1984.
As a governor, Wilson encountered the Vietnamese boat refugees problem. In October 1989, He proposed the building of an airport on Lantau Island, known as the "Rose Garden Project" (玫瑰園計劃, see Hong Kong International Airport) in the Policy Address of 1989. He retired before the end of his term. In addition, Wilson made possible the eighteen legislators of the Legislative Council directly elected by Hongkongers.
After his governorship, he became the chairman of the utility company Scottish Hydro Electric plc (later Scottish and Southern Energy) in Perth, Scotland between 1993 and 2000.
He was appointed a Vice-President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1996) and Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen (1997), and was made a Knight of the Thistle in 2000.
The 78-kilometre Wilson Trail, containing ten hiking segments aligned north-south in Hong Kong, is named after him. As is the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust (衛奕信勳爵文物信託) based in Wanchai, established in December 1992 to preserve Hong Kong's historical culture.
Wilson has been married to Natasha Helen Mary since 1967.
Wilson was appointed Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge in 2002.
| Preceded by: Sir David Akers-Jones (Acting Governor) | Governor of Hong Kong 1987-1992 | Followed by: Christopher Francis Patten |
| Preceded by: Sir John Meurig Thomas | Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge 2002-present | Followed by: N/A |
External links
- Wilson Heritage Trust (http://www.lordwilson-heritagetrust.org.hk)
- Wilson Trail (http://parks.afcd.gov.hk/newparks/eng/hiking/wtrail/wtrail.htm)