Lee Mark Chang is a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

an politician and restaurateur. A member of the United Democratic Party, he was the first

ethnic Chinese The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

person to hold the post of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Senate of Belize The Senate is one of the chambers of the National Assembly of Belize. It has 13 members appointed for a five-year term by the Governor General of Belize. Establishment and appointment Senators are appointed by the Governor General in the fol ...

Early life and career

Chang got his start in life working at the Chon Saan Palace restaurant which his father Armando opened in 1974. Under his management, he grew it from a small family restaurant to a chain with three locations and fifty staff, making it "one of the biggest names in restaurants" in the country. He also became the president of the Chinese Association of Belize. Under his tenure as president, the CAB worked closely with the

Belize Police Department Law enforcement in Belize is conducted by the Belize Police Department headed by a Commissioner and headquartered in Belize City. About The Belize Police Department is descended from the British Honduras Constabulary (BHC), which was establishe ...

on issues of crime prevention, and also donated several motorcycles. He also served in a variety of public positions, for example sitting on the Belize District Liquor Licensing board and working as an occasional court translator.

In politics

Chang first announced his intention to join electoral politics in August 2009. In August 2010, PM

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

appointed Chang to the Senate and made him acting president, to fill in for Andrea Gill who was on

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...

. Politicians from both sides of the aisle such as the PUP's

Lisa Shoman Lisa Shoman, SC (born 1964) is a Belizean lawyer and politician and the Foreign Minister of Belize from 2007 to 2008. She was previously the Permanent Representative of Belize to the Organisation of American States and served concurrently as A ...

offered congratulations to him on what they described as "the epitome of Belize's cultural diversity" and an "important milestone" for Belize's Chinese community. Chang entered the 2012 "double election" as the UDP's

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

candidate for the Freetown constituency. In the run-up to the election, an unknown person released a forged letter claiming to be from Chang, promising to distribute land in Belama to the Belize Chinese Association in exchange for campaign contributions. The ''

Belize Times ''The Belize Times'' is a Belizean newspaper published once a week and the official organ of the People's United Party (PUP). It was established in 1956 and sells for BZ$1 Its offices are located at the PUP's Belize City headquarters at 3 Queen S ...

'' also published a number of racist comments about him. Lee lost the election to PUP party leader

Francis Fonseca Francis William Fonseca (born 11 March 1967) is a Belizean politician who served as leader of the People's United Party (PUP) and as Leader of the Opposition of Belize from 2011 to 2016.

by 1,558 to 1,408 votes. In early April Chang filed a motion for an

election petition An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election. Outcomes When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes: # The election is declared void. The result is q ...

in April, alleging that Fonseca's agents engaged in bribery of the electorate. Chief Justice

Kenneth Benjamin Kenneth Charlie Griffith Benjamin (born 8 April 1967) is a former cricketer from Antigua and Barbuda who played 26 Tests and 26 One Day Internationals for the West Indies. Playing career A right arm fast bowler, Benjamin spent much of his i ...

granted him leave to bring the petition; it was the first election petition in Belize's history to be granted on the grounds of bribery. In November 2015, Chang became the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

, after the United Democratic Party won their 3rd term.

Personal life

Chang's parents are Chinese immigrants. He was born at the former Holden Memorial Hospital on the Marine Parade in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Lee Mark Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Belizean people of Chinese descent Presidents of the Senate (Belize) People from Belize City United Democratic Party (Belize) politicians Belizean businesspeople