Sir Ronald Holmes 何禮文爵士 | |
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| Born | David Ronald Holmes 26 December 1913 |
| Died | 14 June 1981 (aged 67) |
| Occupation | Colonial government official |
Sir David Ronald Holmes CMG CBE MC ED JP (Chinese: 何禮文爵士, 26 December 1913 – 14 June 1981) was a British colonial government official who served in Hong Kong from 1938.
In the Second World War, he was assigned to the British Army Aid Group where he actively took part in a series of guerilla actions in the Far East to resist the Japanese Army and to rescue prisoners of war from the Japanese detention camps. His contribution was recognised by the British government and he was decorated several times. After the war, Holmes played a significant role in reconstructing Hong Kong.
In 1954, he was appointed to establish the Resettlement Department, a governmental department which was responsible for constructing resettlement estates for the homeless refugees. Later on he successively served as the Director of Urban Services, the New Territories' District Commissioner and the Director of Commerce and Industry.
In 1966, Holmes replaced John Crichton McDouall as the Secretary for Chinese Affairs but not long after, the 1967 Leftist Riots broke out. During the riot, he was noted for taking control of the situation as the acting-Colonial Secretary, efficiently took command in the government and adopted a hard-line policy towards the Communists. Holmes continued to serve when the post of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs was renamed into the Secretary for Home Affairs in 1969 and he eventually stepped down in 1971. Afterwards, he immediately became the chairman of the Public Service Commission, a post he served until 1977 when he left Hong Kong.
When Holmes was serving in the government of Hong Kong, he was also successively appointed as official member of the Urban Council, Legislative Council and Executive Council. Among them, he had served for a decade in total in the Legislative Council. For his public service to Hong Kong, he was knighted in 1973.