Lee I-yang (; born 16 December 1947) is a Taiwanese politician and former journalist. A member of 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 ...

(DPP), he is the presumptive next Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan. He previously served as the Vice President of the Examination Yuan from 2017 to 2020.

Education

Lee graduated from

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 ...

with a bachelor's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1978 and a master's degree in political science in 1980.

Journalist career

Lee was a reporter at the

China Times The ''China Times'' (, abbr. ) is a daily Chinese-language newspaper published in Taiwan and one of the most widely circulated newspapers in Taiwan. Founded in 1950, the China Times Group was acquired by food and media conglomerate Want Want, whi ...

from 1982 to 1983.

Political career

Lee first served as assistant to the

legislator A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nat ...

Wu Shu-chen Wu Shu-chen (; born 11 July 1953) is a Taiwanese politician. She served one term in the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1990. As the wife of President Chen Shui-bian, Wu was the First Lady of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. She is the on ...

, and then he served as the Director of Publicity of the

(DPP) from 1987 to 1988. He was then elected to the

Taipei City Council Taipei City Council () is the city council of Taipei, Taiwan. One of the largest Administrative divisions of Taiwan, local councils in Taiwan, the city council is currently composed of 61 councillors, all elected most recently in the 2022 Taiw ...

since 1989 until his resignation to serve as the Director of Civil Affairs in the

Taipei City Government The Taipei City Government is the municipal government of Taipei. History Taipei was known as Taihoku during Japan's rule of Taiwan, which started in 1895. Initially, the city was directly controlled by the Governor-General of Taiwan. In ...

under

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

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 ...

's administration. Later, Chen was elected

president of Taiwan The president of the Republic of China, also known as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. Before 1949 the position had the ...

, ushering in the first time the DPP came into power. Lee first served as the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Minister of the

Directorate-General of Personnel Administration The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration of the Executive Yuan (DGPA; ) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a government body responsible for the overall personnel administration of all ministries and agencies under the Executive Yua ...

for the first five years of Chen administration. Lee served as the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

from 2005 to 2006 and returned to the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

in 2006 serving as the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

until the end of Chen administration in 2008. In 2016, the DPP came into power the second time, Lee was appointed by 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 ...

to the

Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, all o ...

serving as the Minister of the

Civil Service Protection and Training Commission The Civil Service Protection and Training Commission (CSPTC; ) is a ministry-level policy-making body, governed under the Examination Yuan of the Republic of China and is the fundamental Examination Yuan agency responsible for training and safegu ...

and Vice President of the Examination Yuan. In 2024, the DPP remained in power, Lee was presumptive to be appointed by President

William Lai Lai Ching-te (; pinyin: ''Lài Qīngdé''; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since May 2024. He is ...

as the Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan, succeeding

Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney who served as Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan from 2016 to 2024. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City ...

References

Living people 1947 births National Taiwan Ocean University alumni Democratic Progressive Party (Taiwan) politicians Ministers of the interior of Taiwan Taipei City Councilors 21st-century Taiwanese politicians 20th-century Taiwanese politicians {{Taiwan-DPP-politician-stub