Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, former governor and commander-in-chief of Hong Kong, will speak on campus as a guest of the Chubb Fellowship at Timothy Dwight College. His talk -- "Hong Kong: End or Beginning?" -- will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave. Wilson's lecture, which is free and open to the public, is also sponsored by the Council on East Asian Studies, part of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies.
After studying at Oxford University, Wilson entered the Foreign Service in 1958. He served in the British Embassy in Beijing, 1963-65. He was editor of The China Quarterly, the leading academic journal in China, 1968-72 while pursuing his Ph.D. degree at London University.
In 1974 he rejoined the British Public Service, working first in the Cabinet office, and then as political adviser in Hong Kong, responsible for relations with China. He also served in London as head of the Southern European Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In 1984 he was named assistant under-secretary of state, responsible for Britain's relations with Asia and the Pacific. During this time, he headed the British team on the Sino-British Working Group which drafted the agreement on the future of Hong Kong. In 1987 he was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of Hong Kong, where he served until 1992.
Following his retirement, Wilson was appointed chair of Scottish Hydro-Electric PLC in 1993. He is also involved with the House of Lords, heads the Scottish Committee of the British Council and is chancellor of the University of Aberdeen.
The Chubb Fellowship is devoted to encouraging and aiding students interested in the operation of government and in public service careers. The program was established in 1936 by Hendon Chubb, a member of the Class of 1895S.