Sam Hou Fai | |
|---|---|
岑浩輝 | |
 Sam in 2019 | |
| 4thChief Executive of Macau | |
| Assumed office December 20, 2024 | |
| President | Xi Jinping |
| Premier | Li Qiang |
| Preceded by | Ho Iat Seng |
| President of theCourt of Final Appeal of Macau | |
| In office December 20, 1999 – August 28, 2024 | |
| Appointed by | Edmund Ho |
| Succeeded by | Song Man Lei |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 3, 1962 (1962-05-03) (age 63) Zhongshan, Guangdong, China |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Macau |
| Education | Peking University (LLB) University of Coimbra |
| Occupation | Judge |
| Sam Hou Fai | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 岑浩輝 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 岑浩辉 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Sam Hou Fai (Chinese:岑浩輝, born May 3, 1962) is a Macau politician and former judge who is currently theChief Executive of Macau since 2024 and previously served as the 1st President of theCourt of Final Appeal of Macau.[1][2][3]
Sam was born on May 3, 1962 in China and raised inZhongshan. After entering university in 1978 he entered law school in 1981 and earned his bachelor's degree in law fromPeking University inMainland China. After practicing law in China he moved to Macau in 1986, studied at theUniversity of Coimbra and joined the Public Prosecutions Office of Macau in 1995. Sam, alongside important Macau officials born in Mainland China, includingWong Sio Chak andCheong Weng Chon, are widely deemed among the 13 officials handpicked by Beijing to be nurtured to become the future governing team for the city.[4]
In 1997, Sam became a judge at the Court of First Instance and was later elected as member of the Council of Justice.[2]
On December 20, 1999, he was appointed by theChief Executive as the President of theCourt of Final Appeal. He also holds the positions of President of the Council of the Judicial Magistrates, Member of the Independent Commission on the Recommendation of Judges, Member of the Working Committee on Regional Legal Assistance and International Mutual Legal Assistance and Honorable Chairman of the Macao Basic Law Promotional Association.[5] During his tenure he served as the presiding judge forAo Man Long's corruption case.
On August 26, 2024, Chief ExecutiveHo Iat Seng announced Sam's resignation as President of the Court of Final Appeal and his intent to run in the2024 Chief Executive election.[3] He officially announced his intention to run on August 28, 2024.[6]
Sam secured 386 out of 400 nominations from the Electoral Committee before deadline on 12 September, accounting for 96.5% of its members, making him the sole candidate of the chief executive election.[7][8] Sam received 394 out of 400 votes in the election held on 13 October,[9] making him the first chief executive of Macau to be born in Mainland China and without business background.
Sam warned against the dominant role thegaming centres play inMacau's economy, saying that "for a period of time, thetourism and gaming industry developed in a disorderly manner and expanded wildly". He said growth of casinos had strained resources such as manpower and narrowed the career choices for young people, and called for diversifying away from the industry.[10]
Sam promised to support long-term development of local business, and stressed that integrating into the national development "is the most important policy for Macau's future development".[11]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief Executive of Macau 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Legal offices | ||
| New title | President of theCourt of Final Appeal of Macau 1999-2024 | Succeeded by |
| President of theConselho dos Magistrados Judiciais 1999-2024 | ||
