Sir Man Kam Lo (1893–1959), born on 21 July 1893 and descended from Panyu in Guangdong, was a son of the early Hong Kong merchant Lo Cheung-siu, his mother being the sister of the businessman Andrew Zimmern; his family ranked among the colony's leading Chinese clans alongside the Ho Tungs, Lees and Kos. Sent to Britain to study law at thirteen, he graduated in 1915 and qualified as a solicitor, returning to Hong Kong and founding Lo & Lo with his brother Lo Man-wai in 1916 as one of the first Chinese lawyers to practise locally. Made a Justice of the Peace in 1921, he chaired the Tung Wah Hospital in 1929–1930 and also served on the Urban Council, as a court member of the University of Hong Kong, as an adviser to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and as a permanent director of Po Leung Kuk. He entered the Legislative Council as an unofficial member in 1935 and was its Senior Chinese Unofficial Member from 1939 to 1941. Active in business and sport, he sat on the boards of China Light and Power, Hong Kong Hotels and the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Company, and presided over the Hong Kong Football Association; in 1954 he co-founded the Asian Football Confederation with twelve Asian associations, becoming its first president. After Japan seized Hong Kong in December 1941 he was held in solitary confinement and pressed to join a Japanese-run council; appointed to the Executive Council in 1946, he was awarded the CBE. He died of a heart attack on 7 March 1959, aged 65. His wife Victoria was the eldest daughter of Sir Robert Ho Tung, and his youngest son Lo Tak-shing later became a prominent pro-Beijing politician.
Lo Man-kam was both one of the first Chinese lawyers to practise in Hong Kong and an active figure in the Legislative and Executive Councils and in business, representing the pre-war Chinese elite who took part in colonial governance. In 1954 he helped found the Asian Football Confederation and served as its first president, carrying Hong Kong's experience of sports administration to the Asian level.
Achievements
- 1915 · He completed his legal studies in Britain and qualified there, returning to Hong Kong as one of the first Chinese lawyers to practise in the city.
- 1929 · He served as chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital from 1929 to 1930.
- 1954 · He co-founded the Asian Football Confederation with a number of Asian associations and became its first president.