Chen Chien-jen (; born 11 August 1939) is a Taiwanese diplomat and lawyer who served as the

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1999 to 2000.

Early life and education

Chen was born in

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China, on 11 August 1939. After moving to Taiwan in his childhood following the

Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan Following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, the remnants of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC), alongside many refugees, retreated to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) beginning on December 7, 1949. The exodus is so ...

, Chen graduated from

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

in 1960 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LL.B.) and received a master's degree from the university's Graduate Institute of International Relations in 1962. Chen then completed advanced studies in Europe, where he earned a second

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1965 from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in England and was a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

in Spain in 1966.

Political career

Chen served in the Legislative Yuan for one term from 1993 to 1996. He was then named the minister of the

Government Information Office The Government Information Office, Executive Yuan (GIO; ) was a cabinet-level agency of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, Taiwan (the Republic of China) in charge of promoting government policies and regulating media in Taiwan, domestic media. Histo ...

in 1998. The next year, he was appointed to lead the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. Chen planned to retire after stepping down at the end of President

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...

's final term in 2000. However, Lee's successor

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

asked Chen Chien-jen to reconsider. Chen eventually chose to accept the post of representative to the United States. He postponed retirement again in 2004 to become the representative to the European Union and Belgium. Chen was succeeded by Michael Kau in July 2006. During

Hung Hsiu-chu Hung Hsiu-chu (; born 7 April 1948) is a Taiwanese politician. As a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), she has served the party as a Deputy Chairperson and Deputy Secretary-General. Hung was first elected to the legislature in 1990, and was the V ...

's 2016 presidential campaign, Chen was one of her diplomatic advisers.

References

1939 births Living people Republic of China politicians from Shanghai Ministers of foreign affairs of Taiwan Representatives of Taiwan to Belgium Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Taiwanese people from Shanghai Chinese Civil War refugees Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Representatives of Taiwan to the European Union Representatives of Taiwan to the United States {{Taiwan-diplomat-stub