“Their rich experience in various fields will provide valuable input into the making of important policy decisions,” he said on Wednesday.

Confirming a previous Post report, Ip will replace Bernard Chan to become the first woman convenor of Exco, and also the first with a political affiliation, since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

The New People’s Party chairwoman, 71, fended off suggestions she should withdraw from the party she founded in 2011, which now holds five seats in the 90-seat legislature, to ensure impartiality in her new role.

All advisers were appointed on an “ad personam basis”, she said, adding her political affiliation would help improve the relationship between the legislative and executive branches.

“Our role is to advise the chief executive and explain policies. The convenor has no administrative and legislative power … I can’t see any conflict of interests,” she said. “I have widespread experience in government work as well as legislative work. I think I am well qualified.”

Ip, who stepped down as security minister in 2003 after 500,000 people took to the streets opposing a national security bill under Article 23 of the Basic Law, said she would urge officials of the incoming administration to bring initiatives to the de facto cabinet for discussion at an earlier stage of the policymaking process.

The revival of an internal policy research unit would be beneficial to the government in the long run, she added.

The new Exco line-up, which comprises 16 non-official members and 21 incoming politically appointed principal officials, is expected to hold its first formal meeting on July 5.

The average age of Lee’s 16 advisers is 65, three years older than that of incumbent leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

The seven new faces joining Exco as non-official members include insurance sector lawmaker Chan, 68, whose seven-year leadership of Legco’s finance committee had drawn criticism from the opposition for his “aggressive” approach to restricting the camp’s delaying tactics against unpopular funding proposals.

Also invited by Lee to be advisers are former health minister Ko Wing-man, 65, solicitor Eliza Chan Ching-har, 65, who was a deputy director of Lee’s campaign office, former Insurance Authority chairman Moses Cheng Mo-chi, 72, and veteran banker Margaret Leung Ko May-yee, 70.

Eight of the 16 non-official members are lawmakers, up from seven in the incumbent line-up.

Gary Chan Hak-kan, vice-chairman of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), will be the party’s sole new representative in Exco. At 46, he will also be the youngest member in Exco and replaces his former party colleague Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, who quit the group following his appointment as the new deputy secretary for justice. DAB veteran Ip Kwok-him will also step down on July 1.

DAB chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king, once tipped to join Exco, said Chan was qualified for his role and that the party’s reduced representation in the de facto cabinet “did not matter”.

“The most important thing is that the new administration is able to assemble a team to kick-start its work and deliver results as soon as possible,” she said.

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions chairman Stanley Ng Chau-pei, also a lawmaker, will take over his party colleague Wong Kwok-kin’s position in Exco.

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Ng said he would not blindly support government policies despite the appointment and pledged to speak up in the legislature if he held a different view.

The two representatives in the Business and Professionals Alliance – vice-chairman Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, Heung Yee Kuk chairman Kenneth Lau Ip-keung – will stay on, along with Liberal Party leader Tommy Cheung Yu-yan and Martin Liao Cheung-kong, convenor of the pro-establishment lawmakers, as well as senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah.

Paediatrician Lam Ching-choi, Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, former CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, former council chairman of the University of Hong Kong, are among the nine reappointed as Exco members. Li, 76, is the oldest in the 37-strong body.

Laura Cha Shih May-lung, 72, who was chairwoman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, will quit after 18 years in Exco.

“Now is the right time for me to retire from Exco and pass the baton to new members, but I will look forward to continuing to support Hong Kong’s development as an [international financial centre] in any way that I can,” she said in a statement.

Former education minister Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, 69, and former MTR Corporation chief executive officer Chow Chung-kong, 71, will also step down.

Ivan Choy Chi-keung, a political scientist at Chinese University, said the appointment of Ip as convenor and seven other lawmakers as members were part of Beijing’s efforts to further enhance the executive-legislative relationship.

He also expected Ip would distinguish her leadership from her predecessor, Bernard Chan, by taking an active role in defending the central and Hong Kong governments to foreign media.

“Bernard Chan was perceived as a weak spokesman who failed to defend the government in critical times,” said Choy, in an apparent reference to the 2019 anti-government protests triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill.

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“Ip’s warrior personality makes her the best candidate to rebut smears by foreign politicians in an aggressive manner.”

Ip, who had defended authorities during the 2019 unrest as well as the Beijing-imposed national security law in a number of foreign media interviews, said ahead of the appointment on Wednesday that she was willing to take up the role of explaining the government’s policies to the world.

Exco members must be Chinese citizens and permanent residents of Hong Kong, with no right of abode in any foreign country.

Under the Basic Law, the chief executive appoints Exco members from among the principal officials, members of the legislature and public figures. Appointment or removal is decided by the chief executive.

Exco is an organ for helping the chief executive in policymaking. It normally meets once a week and the city leader presides over its meetings. The chief executive is to consult Exco before making important policy decisions, introducing bills or dissolving the Legislative Council.

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If the chief executive does not accept a majority opinion of Exco, the city’s leader has to put the specific reasons on record. Members tender their advice individually, but Exco’s conclusions are presented as collective decisions.

On Sunday, Beijing announced the appointment of Hong Kong’s principal officials to Lee’s cabinet, hailing it as a “diversified team” while also laying down its expectations for the new administration to unite society and make “greater achievements”.

Lee’s team was formed mostly by incumbent political appointees and veteran civil servants, alongside four lawmakers.