The chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (Chinese: 澳門特別行政區行政長官; Portuguese: Chefe do Executivo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau) is the head of government of Macau, a special administrative region of China. The position replaced the office of Governor of Macau, the former head of Macau as an overseas province of Portugal. Under the Basic Law of Macau, the chief executive's role is to:
...be the head of the Macau Special Administrative Region and shall represent the Region. The Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region shall be accountable to the Central People's Government and the Macau Special Administrative Region in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
The current chief executive is Sam Hou Fai. His office is located at the Macau Government Headquarters, formerly the Governor's House (from 1883 to 1926) and the Governor's office (from 1926 to 1999). The CE has used this as his office since 2009.
Contents
History
The office was created by the first session of the 8th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on 31 March 1993 and came into effect on 20 December 1999.
Election
The chief executive is selected by election or through consultations held locally and must be appointed by the Central People's Government (State Council) headed by the Premier before taking office. The term of office of the chief executive shall be five years and may serve for not more than two consecutive terms.
Any candidate running for Chief Executive are required to satisfy the following requirements:
has reached 40 years of age upon the end of the nomination period;
is a permanent resident of Macau;
is a Chinese citizen
has no right of abode in any country other than the People's Republic of China, or pledges to renounce their right of abode in any country other than the PRC before their inauguration;
has ordinary resided in Macau upon the end of the nomination period; and
is registered as an elector and logged onto the Registers, and is not a person without rights to stand for elections.
Powers
The powers of the chief executive are outlined in the region's Basic Law:
To lead the government of the region;
To be responsible for the implementation of this Law and other laws which, in accordance with this Law, apply in the Macau Special Administrative Region;
To sign bills passed by the Legislative Council and to promulgate laws; To sign budgets passed by the Legislative Council and report the budgets and final accounts to the Central People's Government for the record;
To decide on government policies and to issue executive orders;
To formulate the administrative regulations and promulgate them for implementation;
To nominate and to report to the Central People's Government for appointment the following principal officials: secretaries of departments, the commissioner against corruptions, the director of audit, the leading members of the police and the customs and excise; and to recommend to the Central People's Government the removal of the above-mentioned officials;
To appoint part of the members of the Legislative Council;
To appoint or remove members of the Executive Council;
To appoint or remove presidents and judges of the courts at all levels and procurators in accordance with legal procedures;
To nominate and report to the Central People's Government for appointment of the procurator-General and recommend to the Central People's Government the removal of the procurator-general in accordance with legal procedures;
Resignation
Under Section 54 of the Basic Law, the chief executive can resign if:
When he or she loses the ability to discharge their duties as a result of serious illness or other reasons;
When, after the Legislative Council is dissolved because he or she twice refuses to sign a bill passed by it, the new Legislative Council again passes by a two-thirds majority of all the members the original bill in dispute, but he or she still refuses to sign it within 30 days; and
When, after the Legislative Council is dissolved because it refuses to pass a budget or any other bill concerning the overall interests of the Macau Special Administrative Region, the newly elected Legislative Council still refuses to pass the original bill in dispute.
Section 55 covers the temporary assignment of the role of the CE proceeding resignation.