余若薇

English

Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, a Senior Counsel and a justice of the peace, was born in Hong Kong on 11 September 1953 and traces her roots to Shanghai. A barrister and politician, she was a founding member of the Civic Party and represented the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency in the Legislative Council. She attended St Francis' Canossian College from 1960 to 1970 and St Paul's Co-educational College from 1970 to 1972, then studied at the University of Hong Kong, taking a bachelor of laws degree in 1975. She went on to Britain, obtaining a master of laws from the University of London in 1976 and completing the College of Law course. She was called to the English bar in 1977 and to the Hong Kong bar in 1978, was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1993 and became a Senior Counsel after Hong Kong's return to China in 1997. From 1997 to 1999 she chaired the Hong Kong Bar Association, holding a prominent position in the profession. On 11 December 2000 she won the Hong Kong Island by-election with 108,401 votes, or about 52 per cent, filling the seat vacated by Gary Cheng, and was later returned again, serving until 2012. She then helped found the Civic Party, leading it as leader from 2006 to 2011 and as chairman from 2012 to 2016. On constitutional development she took a clear stance, serving as chief spokeswoman of the joint committee for the movement to secure a de facto referendum in five districts, and in 2010 she took part in a televised debate with the then Chief Executive Donald Tsang over the political reform package, drawing wide attention.