Francisco H.L. Ou (; 5 January 1940 – 30 October 2021) was a Taiwanese diplomat. He was ambassador of the Republic of China to Nicaragua and Guatemala before serving as

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

during the

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...

presidential administration.

Early life

Ou was born in

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and raised in Hualien. His father was arrested during the February 28 Incident in 1947. He and his family lived in poverty during his younger days. Ou received his BA from

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei. The university is also considered as the earliest public service training facility of the Republic of China. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subs ...

in 1962.

Political career

Upon graduation, he then went on to serve in the government in several diplomatic capacities, mostly with Central and South American nations. He was also the Spanish interpreter for late President

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

and

Chiang Ching-Kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...

. Ou served as Embassy secretary to Peru (1967–71), ambassador to Nicaragua (1984–85) and Guatemala (1990–96, 2003-8). He has also been director of the Far East Commercial Office in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile (1975-1981), director of the Taiwan Commercial Office in Argentina (1986–90) and representative for the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Spain (2000–03).

ROC Foreign Ministry

Foreign ministry appointment

Ou had planned to retire after turning 65 and applied for permanent residency (‘green card’) in the United States of America. Although he had not expected to be tapped as Foreign Minister when Ma Ying-jeou formed his new government in 2008, Ou accepted Ma's offer. He immediately gave up his green card upon accepting his new post. His possession of a green card generated minor controversy in Taiwanese circles as many viewed the possession of extra-Taiwan status (citizenship or even a green card) as being unpatriotic. Ou, however, claimed that he was merely planning for his retirement, for most of his family members live in the US, and applied for a green card out of realistic thinking.

Foreign ministry resignation

Ou resigned from his post effective 10 September 2009, along with outgoing Premier

Liu Chao-Shiuan Liu Chao-shiuan (; born 10 May 1943) is a Taiwanese educator and politician. He is a former president of the National Tsing Hua University (1987–1993) and Soochow University (2004–2008) and a former Premier of the Republic of China (2008– ...

and the rest of the Cabinet in a reshuffling of government, mostly due to the slow government response handling the

Typhoon Morakot Typhoon Morakot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kiko, was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history. The eighth named storm and fourth typhoon of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, Morakot wrought catastrophic damage in Taiwa ...

aftermath. He was replaced by

Timothy Yang Timothy Yang or Yang Chin-tien (; born 1 July 1942) is a Taiwanese diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Secretary-General to the President of the Republic of China, serving under President Ma Ying-Jeou. Early life Yang was born in ...

, formerly the Republic of China's representative to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Personal life

Ou was fluent in Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese, English, French, and Spanish. He was also an avid

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

player. Ou reportedly underwent surgery in August 2021, and was hospitalized before his death on 30 October 2021, aged 81. Republished as:

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ou, Francisco 1940 births 2021 deaths People from Hsinchu Taiwanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Taoyuan City National Chengchi University alumni Ambassadors of the Republic of China to Guatemala Ambassadors of the Republic of China to Nicaragua Representatives of Taiwan to Argentina Representatives of Taiwan to Chile Representatives of Taiwan to Spain