Item No. 1:
CONFIDENTI AL
STAFF: IN CONFIDENCE
Terms of Reference
The Board agreed that it should cover the following categories of appointments: -
(a) All Colonial Governors.
(b) The Chief Secretary posts in Hong Kong, Fiji and
Bormuda.
(c) the Deputy Governor of the Bahamas.
It confirmed that other appointments should continue to be handled by the Ministry of Overseas Development in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on the understanding that they would refer particular appointments to the Board where they considered it necessary; or in cases of disagreement.
The Board recommended that a communication should be sent to all Governors informing them of the creation of the Board, and its purpose. This should be done as soon as a retired HMOCS officer has agreed to join the Board (sec Item 5).
Item No. 2:
Governor, Hong Kong
While the Board accepted that HMOCS morale would suffer if the post were filled from outside their ranks, it agreed that to cope. with this important and politically sensitive post, the next Governor would have to be:-
(a) An administrator who knew how to run Colonial
administration (even though this would to an extent be the immediate concern of the Colonial Secretary).
(b) An officer with a well developed diplomatic sensitivity
and political understanding, in view of the delicate relationship between Hong Kong and China.
(c) A man who could act as a leader within the Hong Kong
community; and preferably someone already known in the Colony.
The Board considered that Sir Hugh Norman-Walker was, an obvious contender for the post; although it, in the last resort, he was not thought suitable, a number of Diplomatic Service officers (in particular Mr. MacLehose, Imbassador-designate to Copenhagen),
CONFIDENTIAL
STAFF: IN CONFIDENCE
/would be
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