John James Cowperthwaite
Encyclopedia
Sir John James Cowperthwaite KBE
CMG
(郭伯偉爵士), (April 25, 1915 – January 21, 2006) was a British civil servant and the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
from 1961 to 1971. His introduction of free market
economic policies are widely credited with turning postwar Hong Kong
into a thriving global financial centre
.
in Edinburgh
, Scotland
, and later studied classics at St Andrews University and Christ's College
, Cambridge
. He joined the British
Colonial Administrative Service in Hong Kong
in 1941, but left briefly during World War II
to a posting in Sierra Leone
.
in 1945 and continued to rise through the ranks. He was asked to find ways in which the government could boost post-war economic outlook, but he found the economy was recovering swiftly without any government intervention. He took the lesson to heart, and positive non-interventionism
became the focus of his economic policy as Financial Secretary. He refused to collect economic statistics for fear it would encourage officials to meddle in the economy.
He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in 1960, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
in 1964, and knighted in 1968. He was highly praised by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman
just before his death.
Commentators have credited his management of the Hong Kong economy as a leading example of how small government encourage growth. However his starting of a large public housing
programme which made the Hong Kong Government the world’s biggest landlord and the setting up of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
as the region's monopoly in gambling business are rarely mentioned.
, the Hong Kong-based investment bank until 1981. He retired and left Hong Kong for St Andrews
, Scotland
and became a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Cowperthwaite married Sheila Thomson in 1941, they had one son. He died in Scotland on January 21, 2006, aged 90; his son predeceased him.
|width=25% align=center|Preceded by:
Arthur Grenfell Clarke
|width=25% align=center|Financial Secretary
of Hong Kong
1961-1971
|width=25% align=center|Succeeded by:
Sir Charles Philip Haddon-Cave
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(郭伯偉爵士), (April 25, 1915 – January 21, 2006) was a British civil servant and the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)
Financial Secretary , often abbreviated as FS, is a position of the Government of Hong Kong. The FS assists the Chief Executive in supervising the policy bureaux as directed by the CE, mostly finance and economy-related, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonisation in policy formulation and...
from 1961 to 1971. His introduction of free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economic policies are widely credited with turning postwar Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
into a thriving global financial centre
Financial Center
Financial Center is a high-rise building located in the downtown area of Des Moines, Iowa. Completed in 1973 and standing at 345 ft , it was the tallest building in the city and state until the completion of the Ruan Center in 1975, and is currently the fourth tallest.The building consists mainly...
.
Early years
Cowperthwaite attended Merchiston Castle SchoolMerchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School is an independent school for boys in the village of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has about 480 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 8 and 18 as either boarders or day pupils; day pupils make up 35% of the school....
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and later studied classics at St Andrews University and Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. He joined the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Colonial Administrative Service in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1941, but left briefly during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to a posting in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
.
Hong Kong
He returned to Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1945 and continued to rise through the ranks. He was asked to find ways in which the government could boost post-war economic outlook, but he found the economy was recovering swiftly without any government intervention. He took the lesson to heart, and positive non-interventionism
Positive non-interventionism
Positive non-interventionism was the economic policy of Hong Kong; this policy can be traced back to the time when Hong Kong was under British rule...
became the focus of his economic policy as Financial Secretary. He refused to collect economic statistics for fear it would encourage officials to meddle in the economy.
He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in 1960, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1964, and knighted in 1968. He was highly praised by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
just before his death.
Commentators have credited his management of the Hong Kong economy as a leading example of how small government encourage growth. However his starting of a large public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
programme which made the Hong Kong Government the world’s biggest landlord and the setting up of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, founded in 1884 to promote horse racing. It was granted Royal Charter and renamed to "The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club" in 1959...
as the region's monopoly in gambling business are rarely mentioned.
Post–civil service career
After leaving his retirement, Cowperthwaite was international adviser to Jardine FlemingJardine Fleming
Jardine Fleming was a Hong Kong based investment bank founded in 1970 as a joint venture between Jardine Matheson and Robert Fleming & Co. At the time of its sale to JP Morgan Chase in 2000, it operated in 15 countries....
, the Hong Kong-based investment bank until 1981. He retired and left Hong Kong for St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and became a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
Cowperthwaite married Sheila Thomson in 1941, they had one son. He died in Scotland on January 21, 2006, aged 90; his son predeceased him.
External links
- Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story · Watch on 4OD · Play on 4OD Player
- Tribute to John James Cowperthwaite by The Lion Rock InstituteThe Lion Rock InstituteThe Lion Rock Institute is a non-profit, public policy think tank that advocates free market solutions for Hong Kong's policy challenges. Founded in 2004, The Lion Rock Institute remains Hong Kong's only independent free-market think tank...
of Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... - Sir John Cowperthwaite obituary from the Daily Telegraph
- Sir John Cowperthwaite obituary from The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Hong Kong's Nightwatchman by Tim WorstallTim WorstallTim Worstall is an English writer and blogger, who writes about a variety of topics, but particularly about economics. In his day job, he works as a consultant and dealer in scandium and other exotic metals...
- The Hong Kong Experiment by Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
|width=25% align=center|Preceded by:
Arthur Grenfell Clarke
Arthur Grenfell Clarke
Arthur Grenfell Clarke CMG was a government official in Hong Kong who rose to hold the position of Financial Secretary from 1952 to 1961. He was the first of three successive financial secretaries whose support for free market economic policies helped turn postwar Hong Kong into a thriving...
|width=25% align=center|Financial Secretary
Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)
Financial Secretary , often abbreviated as FS, is a position of the Government of Hong Kong. The FS assists the Chief Executive in supervising the policy bureaux as directed by the CE, mostly finance and economy-related, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonisation in policy formulation and...
of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
1961-1971
|width=25% align=center|Succeeded by:
Sir Charles Philip Haddon-Cave
Charles Philip Haddon-Cave
Sir Charles Philip Haddon-Cave , KBE, CMG was Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1971 to 1981. During the period when he was in charge of the economic policy of the Hong Kong government, he adopted "positive non-interventionism" as its chief principle...