Maria Tam

Who is Maria Tam?

Maria Tam Wai-chu GBM GBS JP is a barrister by profession and a contributor in the public domain of Hong Kong. An alumna of St. Paul's Co-educational College, she received her legal education at the University of London and subsequently became a member of Gray’s Inn, London.

She entered into politics when she ran in the 1979 Urban Council election as the advocate for women's rights. In the 1980s she was a member of four different levels councils in Hong Kong, namely the Executive and Legislative Councils, the Urban Council and the Central and Western District Board. During her office in the colonial government, she witnessed the Sino-British negotiations on the political status of Hong Kong after 1997 and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. She was appointed to many positions by Beijing during the transition period, such as member of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Hong Kong Affairs Advisor. She is also a former Chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee, a She is a member of the Board of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, a member of the Advisory Committee on Corruption of the ICAC.