He's called "His Excellency" by some; to others he's "Fatty Patten". Next year he will hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese.
Chris Patten, this week's castaway on Desert Island Discs, describes the challenges of being the colony's last British Governor. He recalls the moment he won the election for the Conservative Party, but lost his own seat, and how, as Environment Secretary, he found himself implementing "the single most unpopular policy that any British government has tried to introduce since the last war" - the poll tax.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Mass No. 18 in C minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking Luxury: A bath