The Right Honourable The Lord MacLehose of Beoch KT GBE KCMG KCVO DL |
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25th Governor of Hong Kong | |
In office 19 November 1971 – 8 May 1982 |
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Preceded by | Sir Hugh Norman-Walker (Administrator) |
Succeeded by | Sir Jack Cater (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
16 October 1917
Died | 27 May 2000 Ayrshire, Scotland, UK |
(aged 82)
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Profession | Diplomat, colonial administrator |
Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 麥理浩 | ||||||||
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Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Mahk Léih houh |
Jyutping | Mak6 Lei5 hou6 |
Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch KT GBE KCMG KCVO DL (Chinese: 麥理浩, 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000) was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four successive terms in office.
Murray MacLehose was born in Glasgow, Scotland in October 1917 as the second child of Hamish Alexander MacLehose and Margaret Bruce Black. He attended Rugby School in 1931 and Balliol College, Oxford.
During World War II, while under the cover of being the British vice-consul, MacLehose trained Chinese guerrillas to operate behind Japanese lines to carry out sabotage.
MacLehose was principal private secretary to Foreign Secretary George Brown in the late 1960s.
His career almost stalled when he left a copy of a confidential telegram in a bank in 1967. The document, from British Prime Minister Harold Wilson to US President Lyndon B. Johnson concerning the Vietnam War, was turned in by another British diplomat who found it. Wilson and Brown prevented an investigation of this security breach, because they appreciated Maclehose's ability, thus saving his career. MacLehose was appointed the British Ambassador to South Vietnam in 1967.