Bernard Charnwut Chan

The Honourable Bernard Charnwut Chan Charnwut Sophonpanich
陳智思
Unofficial Member of the Executive Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2012
Appointed by	Leung Chun-ying
In office 26 October 2004 – 20 January 2009
Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 October 2010
Deputy	Sophia Kao
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 1998–2008
Constituency	Insurance
Majority	53.11% (1998) Unopposed (2000) Unopposed (2004)
Personal details
Born	11 January 1965
Spouse(s)	Yeo Peck Leng
Relations	Chin Sophonpanich (grandfather) Robin Chan (father) Chatri Sophonpanich (uncle) Chartsiri Sophonpanich (cousin)

Bernard Charnwut Chan GBS JP is a Hong Kong politician and businessman, born in 1965 in Hong Kong with family roots in Chaoyang, Guangdong (Chinese: 陳智思), also known by his Thai name Charnwut Sophonpanich (Thai: ชาญวุฒิ โสภณพนิช; rtgs: Chanwut Sophonphanit),^[1][2] He is the grandson of Chin Sophonpanich, the late Thai Chinese founder of Bangkok Bank.^[3] He graduated from The Hill School in 1983 and Pomona College in 1988 with a BA in Studio Art. He is an investor in Thailand's Bumrungrad International Hospital.^[4] He is married and has two children.

He is a member of the Executive Council. He was a member of the Legislative Council (Legco) from 1998 to 2008. He became a Hong Kong Deputy to National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China in 2008.^[5] He chairs several government advisory bodies: the Advisory Committee on Revitalizing Historical Buildings, the Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Condition of Services and the Hong Kong Council for Sustainable Development. He chaired the Antiquities Advisory Board from 2009–2013 and the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Condition of Services from 2001–2006.^[6]

Outside politics, he is President of Asia Financial Holdings and its main subsidiary, Asia Insurance.^[7] Among his business successes are the formation in 1999 of Bank Consortium Trust, a joint venture of nine Hong Kong institutions that provides Mandatory Provident Fund services and of which he was founding chairman. He is also Chairman of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Chair of the Hong Kong-Thailand Business Council, Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University and Vice-Chairman of Oxfam Hong Kong; he is also chairman of the annual HK Oxfam Trailwalker event – a fund-raising 100-kilometre race that attracts teams from around the world.^[8] He played a part in the creation of Caring Company, a framework that creates partnerships between the business and welfare sectors. Chan has been awarded Commander (third class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand,^[9] the Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) and Justice of the Peace (JP).

He is a citizen of China and has previously also held American and Thai citizenship.^[10][11]

Family

In 2011, Chan's wife Yeo Peck Leng founded an "alternative" private primary school, the Almitas Academy, with the couple's two sons as the only pupils. A year later the strongly Christian school, which operates in a commercial building in North Point, had 12 pupils aged from six to 12, about a third of whom have special needs. The academy works closely with parents to nurture their children to their fullest potential. Effective 1 January 2013, the academy changed its status to a not for profit organisation and also took the opportunity to change the English name of the school to Grace Christian Academy.

References

1. Second SAR Legislative Council formed
2. Yau Lee Holdings Ltd. (0406): Executive Profile
3. (Chinese) 陳智思議員
4. "News Digest: Hospital teams up with Cathay Pacific to launch medical tourism". The China. 29 December 2010.
6. http://www.bernardchan.com/eng/index_personal.html (page inaccessible)
8. http://www.oxfam.org.hk/fs/view/downloadables/pdf/annual-review/2005AR_35-36.pdf
9. Bernard Chan
10. 棄美籍10年 或仍要交稅-陳智思啞子食黃連
11. 20% of 70 is not 12

External links

• Official website