Chen Chien-jen (; born 6 June 1951) is a Taiwanese

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone ...

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

, and politician who served as Vice President of Taiwan from 2016 to 2020 and Premier of Taiwan from 2023 to 2024 under President

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

. After earning a doctorate from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in the United States, Chen was a medical researcher and joined the

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 ...

presidential administration in 2003 as leader of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

, serving through 2005. He later headed the

National Science Council The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC; ) is a statutory agency of Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for the promotion and funding of academic research, development of science and technology and science parks. NSTC is ...

between 2006 and 2008. Chen then served as a vice president of

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

from 2011 to 2015. Later that year, Chen joined

on the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

presidential ticket and served as Vice President of Taiwan from 2016 to 2020. Chen joined the DPP in 2022 and was appointed premier in January 2023. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private education, private Catholic university in Xinzhuang District, Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and ...

before running for the presidential election and served as Fu Jen's Robert J. Ronald Chair Professor after leaving office.

Early life and education

Chen was born at his family home in Cishan, Kaohsiung County, on June 6, 1951, as one of eight children. His father, Chen Hsin-an, was a

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

official who served as Kaohsiung County Magistrate from 1954 to 1957. Chen's mother, Chen Wei Lien-chih, managed a daycare. After graduating from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School, Chen enrolled in

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

(NTU) to study

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, then transferred departments as a sophomore to study

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

instead. He graduated from NTU with his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(B.S.) in zoology in 1973 and obtained a

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

(M.P.H.) from the university in 1977. After receiving his master's degree, Chen completed advanced studies in the United States at

, where he studied under molecular biologist Pien-Chien Huang and epidemiologist Bernice H. Cohen. He earned his

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

(D.Sc.) in

human genetics Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in Human, human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, populatio ...

and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

from the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private university, private research university primarily based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded as the Johns Hopkins ...

in 1983.

Career as researcher

He began his medical career by researching hepatitis B, and helped raise awareness about vaccination for the disease in Taiwan. Chen further researched on the liver cancer risk of people with hepatitis B. Chen also discovered a link from arsenic to . The arsenic research lead to the revision of international health standards for arsenic exposure. Between 2011 and November 2015, Chen was a vice president of

Political career

Chen served as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from 2003 to 2005. As health minister, he was praised for effectively managing the SARS epidemic through quarantine and screening procedures, despite Taiwan's non-membership in the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

complicating the coordination of research efforts. His successor Hou Sheng-mao credited Chen with reforming the

National Health Insurance National health insurance (NHI), sometimes called statutory health insurance (SHI), is a system of health insurance that insures a national population against the costs of health care. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector ...

program. Chen led the

from 2006 to 2008.

Vice presidency (2016–2020)

On 16 November 2015, Chen was confirmed as the running mate for

in the

2016 Taiwanese presidential election Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 16 January 2016. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen with her independent running mate Chen Chien-jen won over Eric Chu of the Kuomintang (KMT) and James Soong of the People Fir ...

after media speculation earlier in the month. During the campaign, Chen became known by the nickname Brother Da-jen (), after a character portrayed by Chen Bolin on the romantic drama '' In Time with You''. Chen is the first Catholic vice presidential nominee in Taiwan. On 16 January 2016, Tsai and Chen won the presidential election in a landslide. Chen took up his post as Vice President on 20 May 2016. In March 2019, Chen announced that he would not seek a second term as vice president alongside Tsai. Chen received international attention for his role in leading Taiwan's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

due to his unique position as both vice president and his epidemiologist background. Days before he stepped down from the vice presidency, Chen stated that he would return to the Academia Sinica as a research fellow and thus forgo the pension connected to his political office.

Support for same-sex marriage

On May 17, 2019, the Legislative Yuan approved the same-sex marriage bill, Chen supported it by writing "The Executive Yuan has courageously assumed its responsibility, exercised its utmost wisdom and patience, and continuously communicated and coordinated with the pro and con sides in an effort to reduce social disagreements, proposing a bill that is consistent with the conclusion of the Justice's interpretation of the Constitution and responsive to the majority opinion of the referendum. In the face of the tensions between the pro and con sides, the legislators still uphold the democratic spirit of accommodating diverse opinions and complete the legislative work of the bill smoothly".

Premiership (2023–2024)

In December 2021, Chen applied to join the

, and formally became a member in February 2022. In January 2023, he rejoined the Tsai administration as premier of Taiwan, taking office on 31 January. Chen and the members of his cabinet submitted their joint resignations on 18 January 2024.

Personal life

Chen is married to Lo Fong-ping, whose family is from Nanjing. Chen Chien-jen is a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Chen and his wife were invited to visit the Vatican several times by Popes

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

, and

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

. He has been invested as a Knight of the Equestrian of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (2010) and a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (2013). He served on the board of trustees of

. In April 2025 Chen was chosen to represent Taiwan at the funeral of Pope Francis.

Honours and awards

* 2005 (Life Sciences) * 2009 Officier of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

(France) * 2010 Knight of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

(Vatican)Raphaël Zbinden :
„Un chevalier catholique à la tête de Taïwan"
'', cath.ch, 20. Januar 2016 (fr.) * 2013 Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Vatican) * 2017 Foreign associate of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(USA) * 2020 Order of Dr. Sun Yat-sen with Grand Cordon * 2020 Honorary Doctorate from National Sun Yat-sen University *2021 Member of the

Pontifical Academy of Sciences The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (, ) is a Academy of sciences, scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study ...

(Vatican) * 2024 Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Chien-jen 1951 births Living people National Taiwan University alumni Taiwanese Roman Catholics Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Vice presidents of the Republic of China on Taiwan Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Kaohsiung Ministers of health and welfare of Taiwan Knights of St. Gregory the Great Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Taiwanese epidemiologists Academic staff of the National Taiwan University Tulane University faculty Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Fu Jen Catholic University Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of Propitious Clouds