Lee sworn in as lieutenant governor

Manitoba's newest lieutenant governor, Philip Lee, was sworn in Tuesday afternoon at the legislature.

A leader in Manitoba's Chinese-Canadian community, Lee becomes the province's 24th lieutenant governor, replacing John Harvard, whose five-year term has ended.

The federal appointment was originally announced in June by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and supported by both the governing NDP and the provincial Opposition in Manitoba.

Lee, who was born in Hong Kong in 1944 and moved to Winnipeg in 1962 to study chemistry at the University of Manitoba, is the first person from a visible minority to hold Manitoba's highest political office.

"The symbolic and social role as representative of this office of the province that I have chosen to call home throughout my adult life is a source of excitement and inspiration," Lee said Tuesday.

At the ceremony, Premier Gary Doer acknowledged Lee's contribution to the province's Chinese community. Lee has played a key role in the development of many of the community's landmarks, including the construction of the Chinese Gate between Logan and James avenues, and the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre.

Lee was admitted to the Order of Canada in 1999.