Ambrose Lee

Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong GBS IDSM (Chinese: 李少光; 17 August 1948 – 14 August 2022) was a Hong Kong politician who held the position of Secretary for Security between 2003 and 2012. He also served as commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) between 2002 and 2003, and as the director of immigration between 1998 and 2002.

Lee studied in Kowloon Technical School from 1961 to 1968, during which (after graduating secondary five) he briefly studied in the Hong Kong Technical College (now Hong Kong Polytechnic University) for a month. Lee received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hong Kong.

Lee joined the civil service in 1974 as an immigration officer, rising through the ranks to become assistant director in 1995 and deputy director in 1997. He then served as the director of immigration from October 1998 to 2002.

In July 2002, Lee was appointed as commissioner of the ICAC by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, becoming the first commissioner to have come from the disciplined services.

In August 2003, Lee joined Tung's administration as secretary for security, succeeding Regina Ip, who resigned after massive public protests over a proposed national security law. Lee steered the government's response to protests at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2005 and to the 2010 Manila hostage crisis. Retiring on 30 June 2012, Lee served in the Hong Kong government for a total of 38 years and became the longest serving secretary for security (as of 2022^[update]).

After retirement, Lee served as a local deputy to the National People’s Congress between 2013 and 2018, and frequently made headlines for controversial remarks on current affairs. In 2016, he described young people involved in the 2016 Mong Kok civil unrest as "beasts" who had lost their conscience.

Lee has two children, including his only son, Glen Lee Lam-yan [zh], who has been an artiste for local broadcaster TVB for more than two decades (as of 2022^[update]). Glen had previously told the media that the development of his acting career was limited by his father's post in the government, saying that he was always assigned to play "positive" roles.

Lee died in his sleep at his Sha Tin home on 14 August 2022, three days before his 74th birthday. He had earlier required hospitalisation after a fall that resulted in broken ribs.