Hong Kong's election commission met Sunday and chose former real estate executive Leung Chun-ying as the city's next chief executive.
The 1,200 business leaders and other members of the territory's elite gave Mr. Leung 689 votes, well above the 601 needed to win the election. His closest rival, Henry Tang, won 285 votes, while 76 people voted for the Democratic party's Albert Ho. Regular citizens of Hong Kong have no say in electing the chief executive.
Tang was the early front-runner, but a series of gaffes and scandals eroded his support. Leung was widely seen to have become Beijing's choice for the position.
Outside the forum, around a thousand people protested peacefully to demand full democracy for the Chinese Special Administrative Region.
Mr. Leung will take over from Chief Executive Donald Tsang in June.