Carrie Lam, who won an election to become Hong Kong's first female chief executive on Sunday, is a former student activist who climbed the rungs of the civil service over 36 years, and a tough, capable and possibly divisive Beijing-backed leader.
Lam, 59, most recently Hong Kong's number two official, has to unify the Chinese-ruled city as public resentment swells at Beijing's growing interference in its affairs despite being promised a high degree of autonomy.
She also has to reinvigorate the economy and address growing social inequalities and high property prices.
Several sources who have worked with Lam say she's intelligent, hard-working and able to push controversial government policies, earning her the trust of Beijing factions who strongly lobbied for votes on her behalf.
But her hardline and pro-Beijing tendencies, say critics and opposition democrats, risk sowing further social divisions in the former British colony that returned to China 20 years ago under a "once country, two systems" formula that guarantees it wide-ranging freedoms. "Carrie Lam ... is a nightmare for Hong Kong," said student activist Joshua Wong, 20, one of the leaders of the student-led "Umbrella Movement" protests in 2014 which blocked the streets for 79 days demanding full democracy.
"Theoretically, the chief executive is a bridge between the central government and the Hong Kong people. But Lam will be a tilted bridge. She will only tell us what Beijing wants, and won't reflect what the people want to the communist regime."
Lam, 59, dubbed "the fighter" by media, was once the most popular official in the cabinet of staunchly pro-Beijing incumbent chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, who in 2012 won a similar election restricted to just 1,200 voters.
READ: Carrie Lam selected as Hong Kong's next leader
"Picking Carrie as chief secretary was Leung's best appointment," said a senior government official who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
But she could also sometimes be a "bully", he added.
SOFTER IMAGE
Lam's popularity began to slip just as a younger generation of protesters rose to prominence, and tumbled further during the course of her election campaign this year.
Her attempt to push through a planned Palace Museum in Hong Kong, showing artefacts from the museum in Beijing's Forbidden City, was criticised for being presented as a done deal without public consultation, highlighting what some describe as her "autocratic" style, according to a source who knows her.
She is not well regarded by the opposition democratic camp, with most of the 300 or so democrats seen having voted for former Financial Secretary John Tsang.
The bespectacled Lam was also criticised by student leaders for being "vague" after their televised meeting failed to defuse the 2014 protests. The demonstration ran out of steam two months later and ended with police clearing the streets.
During her campaign, Lam attempted to present a softer, more populist image, but was ridiculed for gaffes including not appearing to know how to use subway turnstiles.
She was also lampooned for a late-night hunt for toilet paper which took her to her posh former home on the Peak after she failed to find any at a convenience store.
The daughter of a Shanghainese immigrant who worked on ships and a mother who had never received a formal education, Lam grew up in a cramped apartment shared by four siblings and several families.
A devout Catholic and a student of sociology at the University of Hong Kong, Lam took part in social activism before joining the government. She is married with two sons.
Lam formally becomes head of the global financial hub on July 1.
She joins a select group of female leaders who have risen to the top job in Asia in recent years including Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, hugely distrusted by China, and ousted South Korean president Park Geun-hye, who angered Beijing with her plans to deploy a U.S. missile defence system to counter the threat from North Korea.
Reuters
Sun Mar 26 2017
During her campaign, Lam attempted to present a softer, more populist image, but was ridiculed for gaffes including not appearing to know how to use subway turnstiles. - REUTERS/Vincent Yu/Pool
Faisal seorang yang ‘kebal’ - Ayah
Doa Abdul Halim buat anaknya tidak pernah putus selain berterima kasih kepada semua pihak yang turut prihatin dengan apa yang menimpa Faisal.
Lelaki OKU maut, ibu cedera dalam kejadian samun di rumah
Mangsa yang juga OKU bisu ditemui maut dalam keadaan mulutnya ditampal pita pelekat manakala ibunya yang berusia 70 tahun luka pada jari kanan.
103 projek bekalan air Pahang libatkan kos RM121.2 juta telah disiapkan
Sebanyak 103 projek pembangunan bekalan air Pahang membabitkan kos sebanyak RM121.2 juta telah disiapkan setakat ini, kata Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
Inndeks Harga Pengeluar Perkhidmatan naik 1.0 peratus pada suku pertama
IHPRP mencatatkan 115.8 mata pada suku pertama 2024 (S1 2024), meningkat satu peratus, yang sama seperti suku keempat 2023 (S4 2023), kata DOSM.
Perancang kewangan perlu lapor kegiatan meragukan kepada pihak berkuasa
Perancang kewangan perlu memainkan peranan untuk melaporkan sebarang kegiatan mencurigakan yang menjurus kepada pengubahan wang haram kepada pihak berkuasa.
Negeri Sembilan arah PBT kenal pasti pokok risiko tumbang di tanah persendirian
Kesemua PBT di Negeri Sembilan diarah mengenal pasti semua pokok yang berbahaya dan berisiko tumbang terutama di kawasan tanah persendirian.
PKNP kenal pasti kawasan berpotensi dibangunkan sekitar ECRL
PKNP kenal pasti beberapa kawasan berpotensi dibangunkan di sekitar stesen ECRL yang sekali gus menyumbang kepada pembangunan ekonomi penduduk setempat dan negeri Pahang.
Mahu kongsi khasiat, bekas guru agama buka ladang dhab pertama di Malaysia
Seorang bekas guru agama membuka sebuah ladang ternakan dhab atau nama saintifiknya Uromastyx aegyptia yang pertama di negara ini.
UPNM guna bahan buangan kelapa sawit jadi peledak peluru
UPNM mengorak langkah dalam bidang inovasi apabila menghasilkan peledak atau bahan bakar alternatif dalam peluru daripada ekstrak bahan buangan kelapa sawit.
10 Berita Pilihan - (08 Mei 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
COVID-19: Hong Kong semak semula sekatan susulan penurunan kes
Bandar yang dikuasai China itu mempunyai beberapa peraturan COVID-19 yang paling ketat di dunia.
COVID-19: Hong Kong arah ujian saringan wajib ke atas semua penduduk
Kesemua 7.5 juta penduduk akan diwajibkan melakukan tiga ujian bermula pertengahan Mac.
Carrie Lam pertahan dasar COVID-19 yang diambil kerajaan
Lam berkata, pihak berkuasa mahu memastikan "tidak akan ada jangkitan wabak komuniti besar-besaran" di Hong Kong.
Perdagangan multilateral mainkan peranan amat penting - Ketua Eksekutif Hong Kong Carrie Lam
Perdagangan multilateral memperlihatkan nilai yang amat signifikan apabila amalan perlindungan terus berleluasa pada masa ini.
Penduduk Hong Kong mula terima suntikan vaksin COVID-19
Penduduk Hong Kong mula menerima suntikan vaksin COVID-19 pada Jumaat dengan keutamaan diberikan kepada golongan warga emas dan petugas kesihatan.
COVID-19: Hong Kong lulus penggunaan vaksin secara kecemasan
Kerajaan bersetuju untuk dapatkan 22.5 juta vaksin dari Oxford-AstraZeneca, syarikat Sinovac dan Fosun yang bekerjasama dengan syarikat Jerman BioNTech.
Kebakaran apartmen, tujuh maut manakala 11 lagi cedera
Kebakaran berpunca daripada sebuah restoran di bangunan tersebut namun punca kebakarannya masih lagi dalam siasatan.
Hong Kong tangguh pilihan raya ekoran penularan COVID-19
LegCo perlu melalui pilihan raya setahun sekali, bagi memilih 70 anggota yang dipilih secara langsung atau tidak langsung.
COVID-19: Hong Kong wajibkan penggunaan pelitup muka
Kira-kira 180,000 penjawat awam di Hong Kong akan mula bekerja dari rumah pada minggu hadapan susulan berikutan lebih 100 jangkitan baharu COVID-19 dilaporkan pada Ahad.
Hong Kong rai ulang tahun ke-23 penyerahan kepada China
Ulang tahun penyerahan Hong Kong pada tarikh 1 Julai itu sekian lama dianggap sebagai hari perpecahan dan perbezaan pendapat di wilayah separa autonomi itu.