Djou, Charles, 1970-

<p>In May 2010, Charles Djou won a surprise special election victory to become only the second Republican since statehood to represent Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although his career on Capitol Hill lasted only a few months, Djou worked to control spending and lower taxes, and he was not afraid to break ties with his party on issues he felt strongly about.</p>

<p>Charles J. Djou was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 9, 1970. Both of his parents had immigrated to the United States from across the Pacific. His father was born in Shanghai, China, and fled to Hong Kong during the Chinese Communist Revolution in the late 1940s. Djou’s mother grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. When he was a boy, Djou’s family moved to Hawaii and settled on the southeastern side of Oahu. He graduated in 1988 from the famed Punahou School in Honolulu and traveled east for college, earning both a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a bachelor of science degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. Four years later he earned a law degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.</p>

<p>In 2001 Djou joined the United States Army Reserve and served in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, a light infantry division, from 2011 to 2012. Afterward, in his private career, Djou worked as an attorney for a small number of firms in Hawaii. He married Stacey Kawasaki, whom he had met shortly after law school when they worked for the same law practice. They have three children, Nick, Tori, and Alli.</p>

DJOU, Charles, a Representative from Hawaii; born in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif., August 9, 1970; graduated from Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1988; B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 1992; B.S., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 1992; J.D., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif., 1996; United States Army Reserve, 2001-present; lawyer, private practice; vice chairman, Hawaii Republican Party, 1998-1999; member of the Hawaii state house of representatives, 2000-2002, minority floor leader, 2001-2002; member of the Honolulu, Hawaii city council, 2002-2010; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Eleventh Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Neil Abercrombie (May 22, 2010-January 3, 2011); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Twelfth Congress in 2010; unsuccessful candidate for election to the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress in 2012; unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress in 2014; unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2016.

<p>Charles Kong Djou (born August 9, 1970) is an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2010 to 2011. As a member of the Republican Party, Djou won his congressional seat in a May 2010 special election where the Democratic Party vote was split between several candidates, but he was defeated in the general election in November after the Democratic primary provided a single opponent. Djou, who was previously in the Hawaii House of Representatives and the Honolulu City Council, was the first Thai American of any party and the first Chinese American Republican to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. In June 2016, Djou entered the race for Mayor of Honolulu, which he lost 48% to 52% to Democratic Party incumbent Kirk Caldwell. Djou left the Republican Party in March 2018. As of 2021, Djou is the last Republican to represent Hawaii in Congress.</p>

<p>Born in Los Angeles, California, to a Chinese father from Shanghai and a Thai Chinese mother from Bangkok, Djou grew up in Hawaii after his father's employer transferred him there when Djou was three. He graduated from high school at Punahou School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating magna cum laude. He earned his J.D. degree at the USC Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California.</p>

<p>Djou is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. He has taught as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Hawaii and as an adjunct professor of political science at Hawaii Pacific University.</p>