Carrie Lam, who won an election to become Hong Kong's first female chief executive Sunday, is a former student activist who climbed the rungs of the civil service over 36 years, and a tough, capable and possibly divisive Beijing-backed leader.
Lam, 59, most recently Hong Kong's No. 2 official, has to unify the Chinese-ruled city as public resentment swells at Beijing's growing interference in its affairs despite being promised a high degree of autonomy.
She also has to reinvigorate the economy and address growing social inequalities and high property prices.