Government of Hong Kong
| Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | |
|---|---|
| 香港特別行政區政府 | |
| Overview | |
| Established | 1 July 1997 |
| Polity | Hong Kong |
| Leader | Chief Executive (John Lee) |
| Appointed by | State Council of China upon selection by the Election Committee (Chief Executive) and on the nomination of the Chief Executive (principal officials) |
| Main organ | Executive Council |
| Ministries | 15 bureaux (full list) |
| Responsible to | Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs |
| Annual budget | HK$776.9 billion (2024/25) |
| Headquarters | Central Government Complex |
| Website | gov.hk |
| Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港特別行政區政府 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港特别行政区政府 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Hoeng1 gong2 Dak6 bit6 Hang4 zing3 keoi1 Zing3 fu2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Hēunggóng Dahkbiht Hàhngjingkēui Jingfú | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Abbreviation | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 香港政府 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Hoeng1 gong2 Zing3 fu2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Hēunggóng Jingfú | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Politics and government of Hong Kong |
| Related topics Hong Kong portal |
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. It is led by the Chief Executive, who together with the principal officials form the Executive Council, which is the government's de facto cabinet.
The Chief Executive, who is responsible to both Hong Kong and the Central People's Government in Beijing, is appointed by the State Council of China after being elected by the 1500-member Election Committee. The Chief Executive in turn nominates the principal officials for appointment by the State Council of China. The Chief Secretary, who is the most senior principal official, leads the Government Secretariat, which contains most of the government's departments and permanent bureaucracy.
Under the principle of separation of powers, members of the government, including both political appointees and civil servants, cannot run for election to the Legislative Council, to which the government is accountable. The government must rely on the legislature to enact primary legislation and grant supply. The government operates as a presidential system.
Under the "one country, two systems" constitutional principle, the Government is, in law, exclusively in charge of Hong Kong's internal affairs and specified external relations. The Central People's Government, from which the Hong Kong government is financially independent, is responsible for Hong Kong's defence and foreign policy, while decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress can, in certain circumstances, override Hong Kong courts. The Hong Kong SAR government replaced the former British Hong Kong Government (1842–1997) in 1997. Despite gradually evolving, the general governmental structure was inherited from British Hong Kong.
On February 28, 2024, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, announced the Special Administrative Region's (SAR) government budget for the fiscal year 2024 to 2025 (“2024–25 Budget”). Under the 2024-25 budget, total government expenditure is set to rise by 6.7 percent to HK$776.9 billion (US$99.23 billion).