# Secretary for Health

The Secretary for Health (Chinese: 醫務衞生局局長) is a ministerial position in the Hong Kong Government, who heads the Health Bureau. The current office holder is Lo Chung-mau.
The position was created on 1 July 2022, following the reshuffle of the principal officials and reorganisation of the policy bureaux of the Hong Kong Government. It replaced the previous Secretary for Food and Health, and the portfolio with foods transferred to the Secretary for Environment and Ecology.
Before that, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food (Chinese: 衞生福利及食物局局長; pinyin: Wèishēng Fúlì Jí Shíwù-jú júzhǎng) was created as a ministerial position who headed the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HWFB). It was replaced by Secretary for Food and Health on 1 July 2007, following the reshuffle of the principal officials and reorganisation of the policy bureaux of the Hong Kong Government. It replaced the previous Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, and the portfolio with welfare transferred to the Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
The SH is a politically appointed position. In other words, its term expires when the Chief Executive leaves office. The secretary is also a member of the Executive Council (ExCo).

## List of office holders

Political party: Nonpartisan

### Secretaries for Social Services, 1973–1983

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Governor |
| 1 | Li Fook-kow 李福逑 | 1973 | 1977 | Sir Murray MacLehose (1971–1982) |
| 1 | Eric Peter Ho 何鴻鑾 | 12 April 1977 | 6 February 1983 | Sir Murray MacLehose (1971–1982) |
| 1 | Eric Peter Ho 何鴻鑾 | 12 April 1977 | 6 February 1983 | Sir Edward Youde (1971–1982) |

### Secretaries for Health and Welfare, 1983–1997

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Governor |
| 1 | Henry Ching 程慶禮 | 2 May 1983 | 30 November 1984 | Sir Edward Youde (1982–1986) |
| 2 | John Walter Chambers 湛保庶 | 1 December 1984 | 30 September 1988 | Sir Edward Youde (1982–1986) |
| 2 | John Walter Chambers 湛保庶 | 1 December 1984 | 30 September 1988 | Sir David Wilson (1987–1992) |
| 3 | Chau Tak-hay 周德熙 | 1 October 1988 | January 1990 | Sir David Wilson (1987–1992) |
| 4 | Elizabeth Wong 黃錢其濂 | January 1990 | September 1994 | Sir David Wilson (1987–1992) |
| 4 | Elizabeth Wong 黃錢其濂 | January 1990 | September 1994 | Chris Patten (1992–1997) |
| 5 | Katherine Fok 霍羅兆貞 | September 1994 | 30 June 1997 | Chris Patten (1992–1997) |

### Secretaries for Health and Welfare, 1997–2002

| No. | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Duration | Chief Executive | Term | Ref |
| 1 | | Katherine Fok Lo Shiu-ching 霍羅兆貞 | 1 July 1997 | 19 September 1999 | 2 years, 80 days | Tung Chee-hwa (1997–2005) | 1 | |
| 2 | | Yeoh Eng-kiong 楊永強 | 20 September 1999 | 30 June 2002 | 2 years, 283 days | Tung Chee-hwa (1997–2005) | 1 | |

### Secretaries for Health, Welfare and Food, 2002–2007

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Duration | Chief Executive | Term |
| 1 | Yeoh Eng-kiong 楊永強 | 1 July 2002 | 11 October 2004 | 2 years, 102 days | Tung Chee-hwa (1997–2005) | 2 |
| 2 | York Chow Yat-ngok 周一嶽 | 12 October 2004 | 30 June 2007 | 2 years, 261 days | Tung Chee-hwa (1997–2005) | 2 |
| 2 | York Chow Yat-ngok 周一嶽 | 12 October 2004 | 30 June 2007 | 2 years, 261 days | Donald Tsang (2005–2012) | 2 |

### Secretaries for Food and Health, 2007–2022

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Duration | Chief Executive | Term |
| 1 | York Chow Yat-ngok 周一嶽 | 1 July 2007 | 30 June 2012 | 5 years, 0 days | Donald Tsang (2005–2012) | 3 |
| 2 | Ko Wing-man 高永文 | 1 July 2012 | 30 June 2017 | 5 years, 0 days | Leung Chun-ying (2012–2017) | 4 |
| 3 | Sophia Chan Siu-chee 陳肇始 | 1 July 2017 | 30 June 2022 | 5 years, 0 days | Carrie Lam (2017–2022) | 5 |

### Secretaries for Health, 2022–present

| No. | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Duration | Chief Executive | Term | Ref |
| 1 | | Lo Chung-mau 盧寵茂 | 1 July 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 98 days | John Lee (2022–present) | 6 | |