Charles Djou | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |||||||||||
| Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission | |||||||||||
| Assumed office May 2022 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | William Matz Jr. | ||||||||||
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 1st district | |||||||||||
| In office May 22, 2010 – January 3, 2011 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Neil Abercrombie | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Colleen Hanabusa | ||||||||||
| Member of the Honolulu City Council from the 4th district | |||||||||||
| In office December 2002 – May 22, 2010 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Duke Bainum | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lee Donohue | ||||||||||
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 47th district | |||||||||||
| In office January 1999 – December 2002 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Iris Catalani | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Colleen Meyer | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | Charles Kong Djou August 9, 1970 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Political party | Independent (2018–present) | ||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Republican (before 2018) | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Stacey Kawasaki | ||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||
| Residence(s) | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BS, BA) University of Southern California (JD) United States Army War College (MA) | ||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United States | ||||||||||
| Branch/service |  United States Army | ||||||||||
| Rank |  Colonel | ||||||||||
| Unit | United States Army Reserve | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 周永康 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Charles Kong Djou (born August 9, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who is currently Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission. A former member of the Republican Party, Djou briefly served as U.S. representative from Hawaii's 1st congressional district from May 2010 to January 2011.[1] As of 2024[update], he is the last Republican to represent Hawaii in Congress.
Djou was elected to Congress in a May 2010 special election with 39.68% of the vote against two Democratic opponents. He was defeated in the November 2010 general election by Colleen Hanabusa.[2] His election made him the first Thai American, as well as the first Republican of Chinese American descent, to serve in the House of Representatives. Prior to his election to Congress, he was a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives and the Honolulu City Council.
Following his defeat in 2010, he unsuccessfully ran to represent the district in the 2012 and 2014 elections. In 2016, he was a candidate for Mayor of Honolulu, ultimately losing to Kirk Caldwell by a 52% to 48% margin. In 2018, Djou left the Republican Party due to his opposition to then-President Donald Trump.[3] Djou supported Democratic nominee Joe Biden's candidacy in the 2020 presidential election. Following Biden's victory, Djou was appointed Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.[4]
- ^ U.S. Rep. District 1 Special Vacancy Election – State of Hawaii – Statewide May 22, 2010. Accessed May 22, 2010
- ^ Goodin, Emily (November 3, 2010). "Dems pick up Hawaii seat". The Hill.
- ^ Staff (March 19, 2018). "Djou abandons Republican Party because of Trump". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ "Charles K. Djou". American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved October 13, 2022.