Harbinson gets Geneva job in overseas offices reshuffle

DEPUTY Secretary for the Civil Service Stuart Harbinson would take charge of the Hong Kong Government's Geneva office as part of a major reshuffle of the administration's overseas offices announced yesterday.

Mr Harbinson, who made his mark in last year's bitter dispute over expatriate civil servants switching to local terms, and won the private praise of Governor Chris Patten for his strong defence of the Government's stance on the issue, would take over as Hong Kong's Permanent Representative to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in August.

He said last night he was currently mediating between expatriate and local civil service unions, ahead of the April 20 end to a six-month freeze that legislators imposed on any further transfer of expatriates to local terms, and had ''slightly mixed feelings'' about his impending move.

''I'm sad in a way to leave the Civil Service Branch but it is a very great privilege to represent Hong Kong at GATT, especially as we are very strong supporters of multilateral trading and the 10th largest trading entity in the world,'' Mr Harbinson said.

Although the new Secretary for the Civil Service, Michael Sze Cho-cheung, has yet to choose a successor, an announcement is expected within weeks.

The Government yesterday confirmed a Sunday Morning Post report on January 30, that Deputy Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Leung Chin-man would take over as head of the Hong Kong Government's Toronto office, replacing Stephen Lam Sui-lung.