AT 40, BERNARD CHAN is enjoying a smooth ride in the fast lane of politics after entering the profession seven years ago.
He succeeded in capturing the Legislative Council insurance functional constituency seat in 1998, and was re-elected in 2000 and 2004 respectively. Last October, he was named by the exiting chief executive Tung Chee-hwa to sit on the Executive Council - the city's highest policy decision-making body.
Seven years after becoming the youngest member of Legco, Mr Chan remains the youngest face in the legislature formed in the 2004 elections. He may not be a household name, but pundits have no doubt he will be one of the major players in the political scene in the next 10 to 15 years.
The grandson of Chin Sophonpanich, who founded Bangkok Bank, the largest private bank in Thailand, Mr Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1965. His father, Robin Chan Yau-hing, keeps a low profile but is a long-standing Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress and is highly-respected in pro-Beijing circles.
Recalling his youth, Mr Chan confessed he did not enjoy his school days at St Joseph's Primary School, and things went from bad to worse at secondary school in St Joseph's College.
'I remember the class teacher announcing my results in front of the class and saying: 'You have no future. You're hopeless',' he says.
