Miriam Lau Kin-yee GBS OBE JP (Chinese: 劉健儀, born 27 April 1947) is a Hong Kong lawyer and former politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1988 to 2012, first as an appointee of the Governor from 1988 to 1995, and subsequently as the representative of the transport industry functional constituency from 1995 to 2012.

Miriam Lau Kin-yee
劉健儀
Chairwoman of the Liberal Party
In office
8 September 2008 – 9 September 2012
Preceded byJames Tien
Succeeded byVincent Fang (acting)
Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
In office
2 July 1998 – 16 July 2012
Preceded byNew parliament
Succeeded byFrankie Yick
ConstituencyTransport
In office
22 February 1997 – 8 April 1998
ConstituencyProvisional Legislative Council
In office
11 October 1995 – 27 June 1997
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byReplaced by Provisional Legislative Council
ConstituencyTransport & Communication
In office
22 September 1988 – 17 September 1995
Appointed bySir David Wilson
ConstituencyAppointed
Personal details
Born (1947-04-27) 27 April 1947 (age 77)
Guangzhou, Canton, China
NationalityHong Kong Chinese
Political partyLiberal Party (1993–2022)
Spouse
Alfred Lau Tit-hon
(m. 1979; div. 2001)
ResidenceHong Kong
Alma materUniversity of Hong Kong
University of East Asia
OccupationLegislative Councillor
solicitor
Miriam Lau Kin-yee
Traditional Chinese劉健儀
Simplified Chinese刘健仪
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiú Jiànyí
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLàuh Gihn Yìh
JyutpingLau4 Gin6ji4

Lau served as the Chairman of the House Committee from 2003 to 2012, and often presided over debates as Deputy President in the absence of Rita Fan and Jasper Tsang.

Early life and education

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Miriam Lau was born on 27 April 1947 in Guangzhou, China to a working-class family, moving to Hong Kong at a young age and settling in subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po. She studied at Maryknoll Convent School and later graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with second-class honours.

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Lau was admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong in March 1977, and was subsequently admitted to practice in England and Wales in July 1981.[1] She was with the law firm of Alfred Lau, her ex-husband, from 1979 to 2001.[2] Lau currently is a consultant with the law firm King & Wood Mallesons, specialising in litigation.[3]

Political career

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Lau entered politics in 1985 as an appointed member of the Urban Council, serving until 1991.

Lau was the chairwoman of the Liberal Party after James Tien's resignation following the party's poor performance in the 2008 Hong Kong legislative election until 2012, when she stood down for the same reason: in that election, the party secured only 2.64 percent of the popular vote. She also lost her own seat, having stood in the geographical constituency of Hong Kong Island, rather than in the (safer) option of her existing functional constituency.[4]

Lau resigned from the Liberal Party in 2022 along with former chairman and leader James Tien and Selina Chow, in protest of the new leadership's decision to abolish the position of honorary chairman.

Personal life

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Lau is Catholic and has one child.[5] She was previously married to Alfred Lau, a lawyer, from 1979 to 2001.

Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Law List". The Law Society of Hong Kong. 13 December 2024.
  2. ^ The Honourable Miriam LAU Kin Yee, GBS, JP[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Profile at King & Wood
  4. ^ Hon Miriam LAU Kin-yee, GBS, JP Archived 25 September 2004 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Membership". web.archive.org. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
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Legislative Council of Hong Kong
New constituency Member of Legislative Council
Representative for Transport and Communication
1995–1997
Replaced by Provisional Legislative Council
New parliament Member of Provisional Legislative Council
1997–1998
Replaced by Legislative Council
Member of Legislative Council
Representative for Transport
1998–2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of House Committee
2003–2012
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Vice-Chairperson of the Liberal Party
2000–2008
Served alongside: Selina Chow
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairperson of the Liberal Party
2008–2012
Succeeded byas Acting chairman
Honorary titles
Preceded by Honorary Chairperson of the Liberal Party
2012–present
Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Timothy Fok
Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star
Hong Kong order of precedence
Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star
Succeeded by
Haider Barma
Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star