Sir David Akers-Jones, the most former senior government official likely to sit on the Selection Committee, believes the future chief executive does not necessarily have to be a civil servant.
'You have to distinguish between the role of chief executive and the role of civil servants,' he said. 'The separation of public servants from the chief executive is a real separation.
'It is difficult for people to think through this question of having our own chief executive because it's completely unfamiliar, an entirely new situation. The tendency in people's minds is to think of a familiar situation, which is really to promote someone from the civil servants.
'Various names have been mentioned, John Chan [Cho-chak], Anson Chan [Fang On-sang]. This is partly conditioned by the unfamiliarity of the fact that we are choosing our own chief executive.
'It's easier to think of promoting a civil servant than finding someone from the community,' he said.
Now a Beijing-appointed adviser on Hong Kong affairs, Sir David served in the administration from 1957 to 1987. After stepping down as chief secretary, he chaired the Housing Authority.
