Charles Djou

Charles Kong Djou (born August 9, 1970) is an American politician who served as U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2010 to 2011.

Djou was Vice Chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1998 to 1999 and was later named legislator of the year by Small Business Hawaii in 2002, 2004, and 2006.

In 1998, Djou ran as a Republican for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 47 seat.

He was unopposed in the primary election, but lost to Iris Ikeda Catalani in the general election by 190 votes.

In 2000, he again ran for the Hawaii State House of Representatives District 47 seat.

Unopposed in the primary, he faced Catalani in the general election.

Catalani faced controversy in the campaign, with allegations that she broke a promise to the Outdoor Circle, a community beautification organization, by posting yard signs.

Djou won the race with 52.5 percent of the vote to Catalani's 44.2 percent.

As a member of the State House of Representatives, Djou had one term in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002 and was the Minority Floor Leader.

Djou launched a successful campaign to open the State Budget worksheets to the public after being told he could look at the budget worksheets in the committee room but was not allowed to take any notes or make copies of them.

The documents detail the budget for various state departments and agencies.

He opposed the state "van cam" program launched in 2002 to catch speeders using automated cameras instead of police officers, and successfully campaigned for its elimination.

In 2002, Djou announced he would run for the Honolulu City Council.

He also announced he would move to East Honolulu (City Council District IV) from Kaneohe (City Council District III) to avoid running against fellow Republican Stan Koki.

Honolulu City and County elections are officially nonpartisan, and any candidate who wins a majority of the votes in the primary election can win outright.

No candidate received a majority of the votes in the primary election, so Djou and Robert Fishman, a former city managing director and chief of staff to the governor, faced each other in a runoff in the general election.

Djou won with 51.3 percent of the vote to Fishman's 39.2 percent.

Djou ran for reelection to the Honolulu City Council.

He was unopposed and won the seat by default.

In 2002, Djou was elected to the Honolulu City Council, representing District IV (Waikiki to Hawaii Kai).

In 2006 he was selected as one of the 40 most promising leaders in Hawaii under age 40 by Pacific Business News, and in 2005 was named by Honolulu Weekly as the "Best Politician" in the state.

He was reelected in 2006 and was on the council until his election to Congress.

On the City Council he was the Chairman of the Zoning Committee, Vice Chair of the Planning Committee and as a member of the Transportation and Public Safety & Services committees.

In March 2008, Djou announced well ahead of time that he would run for U.S. Congress in the 2010 cycle, seeking Hawaii's 1st congressional district seat.

Djou won his House seat in a May 2010 special election.

He was defeated in the November general election after the Democratic primary provided a single opponent.

The seat became vacant on February 28, 2010, when incumbent Neil Abercrombie resigned to run for Governor of Hawaii.

Abercrombie's resignation precipitated a special election on May 22, 2010, which Djou entered.

He ran for but did not win his old House seat again in 2012 and 2014.

Djou, who previously served in the Hawaii House of Representatives and on 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, he entered the race for mayor of Honolulu, which he lost, 48% to 52%, to incumbent Kirk Caldwell.

As of 2023, Djou was the last Republican to have represented Hawaii in Congress.

He left the Republican Party in 2018 and in 2020 endorsed Joe Biden for president.

After Biden won the presidency, he appointed Djou to be Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

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.

Djou earned his M.A. graduate degree in strategic studies at the US Army War College where he was a resident student and Carlisle Scholar.

Djou is a 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.