Paulus Johannes Zimmerman
| Paul Zimmerman | |
|---|---|
| 司馬文 | |
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| Member of the Southern District Council | |
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Assumed office 5 September 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Ronald Chan |
| Constituency | Pokfulam |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 November 1958 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Nationality |
Netherlands (until 2012) Chinese (Hong Kong) (since 2012) |
| Political party |
Civic Party (2006~12) Independent (~2006, 2012~) |
| Residence | Hong Kong |
| Alma mater |
Erasmus University University of Hong Kong |
| Website | www |
| Paul Zimmerman | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 司馬文 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Sī Máh màhn |
| Jyutping | Si1 Maa5 man4 |
Paulus Johannes Zimmerman (Chinese: 司馬文; born 8 November 1958) is a Dutch-born Hong Kong environmentalist, politician and businessman. He is a member of the Southern District Council for Pokfulam and CEO of Designing Hong Kong, a group that advocates better urban design.
Zimmerman was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands of Jewish origin in 1958, and grew up in the town of Woerden. He set up a student union in high school and joined the editorial board of an underground newspaper. When he was 17, in response to the dismissal of several popular teachers, Zimmerman took part in a demonstration in which protesters barricaded the building. The school was closed for a week and the offending headmaster replaced.
He pursued a Master's programme in Social Science (Economics) at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. While there, he got into politics with the Democrats.
In 1984, he moved to Hong Kong as a three-month trainee in a Dutch bank to avoid conscription. Deciding against a banking career, by 1987 he had started his own business, a graphic design firm called Bridge Design, and sold it 10 years later to Caribiner International, organisers of the Hong Kong Handover. He continued to work for what (combined) later became communications agency Jack Morton until 2001.
In 2000, he founded a strategy and policy consultancy called the Experience Group.
In the early 2000s, Zimmerman worked alongside businessman Chung Po-yan on a project that later became Designing Hong Kong Harbourfront District, a non-governmental organisation devoted to improving Hong Kong's waterfronts and promoting liveable density. The Government set up the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee in 2004 in response to the project.
He was an executive director at investments umbrella company Jebsen Travel International from 2003 to 2010. He remains on the Board as a non-executive director. He retired from the position to focus his efforts on Designing Hong Kong and the Southern District Council.
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