governor death_place death_date predecessor birth_place successor children office birth_date term_start spouse article_title term_end name alma_mater
sir robert black sir david trench ninewells hospital , dundee , scotland , united kingdom 21 january 2006 arthur grenfell clarke edinburgh , scotland , united kingdom charles philip haddon-cave john james hamish cowperthwaite financial secretary of hong kong 25 april 1915 17 april 1961 sheila mary thomson john james cowperthwaite
 30 june 1971 john james cowperthwaite merchiston , cambridge castle school st andrews university christ 's college
john james cowperthwaite

sir john james cowperthwaite , kbe , cmg -lrb- ; 25 april 1915 -- 21 january 2006 -rrb- , was a british civil servant and the financial secretary of hong kong from 1961 to 1971 .
his introduction of free market economic policies are widely credited with turning postwar hong kong into a thriving global financial centre .
