John Lee Ka-chiu (; born 7 December 1957) is a Hong Kong politician and former police officer who is the 5th and current Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Originally a police officer, Lee served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force from 2010 to 2012. He was appointed Under Secretary of Security by Leung Chun-ying in 2012. After Carrie Lam became Chief Executive in 2017, he was promoted to Secretary for Security. In 2021, he succeeded Matthew Cheung as Chief Secretary for Administration, a post which he served until 2022. A pro-Beijing politician, Lee is known as being a hardliner against the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, having played a key role in the crackdown of the opposition. As the sole candidate approved by China in the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election, Lee was chosen as Hong Kong's next Chief Executive, taking office 1 July 2022. His selection was seen as a move by the Chinese government to focus further on security and further integrate Hong Kong with the mainland. Early life In 1980, John Lee married Janet Lam at a young age, with whom he has two sons, Gilbert Lee Man-lung and Lee Man-chun. Lee did not attend university after secondary school. Career Police officer On 15 August 1977, at the age of 19, Lee joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force as a probationary inspector. He became a Chief Inspector on 11 May 1984. He became Chief Superintendent in 1997, Assistant Commissioner in 2003, senior assistant commissioner in 2007 and Deputy Commissioner in 2010. Having served in a wide range of operational duties, including the CID, Complaints Against Police, Service Quality, Personnel, Training, Information Systems, Finance, Policies Formulation, Planning and Development, Lee had been the Commander of Kowloon West Region, Assistant Commissioner (Crime) and Director of Crime and Security, and Deputy Commissioner (Management). During his tenure as a police officer, Lee obtained a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from Charles Sturt University in Australia under a self-learning programme sponsored by the force. Security Bureau Lee was appointed Under Secretary for Security in 2012 by chief executive Leung Chun-ying and promoted to Secretary for Security in July 2017 in Carrie Lam's administration. In 2019, Lee played a key role in the push for the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. On 3 July 2020, the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency stated that the Committee