Patten, Christopher Francis (1944-…), was the last British governor of Hong Kong. During his five-year term of office, from 1992 to 1997, he was responsible for the transfer of Hong Kong from British control to Chinese rule. China leased Hong Kong to the British in 1898 for a period of 99 years. The United Kingdom returned control of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997.
Patten was born on May 12, 1944, in Cleveleys, Lancashire. He studied history at Balliol College, Oxford. A Conservative politician, Patten was a member of Parliament from 1979 to 1992. He wrote a study of Conservatism, The Tory Case (1983). In 1985, Patten became minister of state for education and science, and in 1986 he was appointed minister of overseas development at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He became secretary of state for the environment in 1989 and chairman of the Conservative Party the following year. Patten led the party’s campaign in the 1992 general election. The party was reelected to government, but Patten lost his parliamentary seat.
Patten served as chancellor of Newcastle University from 1999 to 2009, and he was elected chancellor of the University of Oxford in 2003. Patten took his seat in the House of Lords in 2005.
