Ambrose Lee
Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong 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 of Hong Kong|Independent Commission Against Corruption] between 2002 and 2003, and as the director of immigration between 1998 and 2002.
Education
Lee studied in Kowloon Technical School from 1961 to 1968, during which he briefly studied in the Hong Kong Technical College for a month. Lee received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hong Kong.Career
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 Hong Kong [1 July marches#2003|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.
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.