Rachel CARTLAND

Rachel Cartland graduated from the University of Oxford in 1972 with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics then joined the Administrative Grade of the Hong Kong Civil Service where she worked until her retirement in early 2006.

During her time with Government she served in a variety of senior posts and has wide experience of policy formulation and the workings of the civil service, as well as a good understanding of all levels of Hong Kong society.

She spent the major part of her career in the Government Secretariat and during that time prepared submissions for Executive Council, Legislative Council and its Finance Committee as well as all sorts of Government correspondence and undertook negotiations including with leading commercial entities.

As Assistant Director of Social Welfare (Social Security) she had responsibility for an annual budget of HK$25 billion and 2000 staff. The staff encompassed a wide range of middle and junior ranking personnel.

Current and recent community service includes The Women’s Foundation (Board of Governors), City Chamber Orchestra (Board), China Oxford Scholarship Fund (Trustee), Scholarship Committee of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Hong Kong (Chairman) and the Hong Kong Society for the Blind (Chairman). From 2018 she was on the Executive Committee of the Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong, a leading local think tank and chaired it 2022-2024. She continues to be involved in lobbying and advocacy on community issues, for the betterment of Hong Kong.

Until 2020 she was a regular co-host on Backchat, the flagship news discussion program on RTHK Radio 3. She has been a regular contributor to the BBC World Service’s Business Matters, commenting on international affairs, particularly as they relate to China and Hong Kong.

Her memoir under the title Paper Tigress was published by Blacksmith Books in 2013 and reprinted in 2015.