HLS grad is elected president of Taiwan
March 24, 2008
Ma Ying-jeou S.J.D. '81
Running on a promise to improve relations with mainland China, former Taipei mayor and Harvard Law graduate Ma Ying-jeou S.J.D. '81 was elected president of Taiwan this weekend. Ma, the Nationalist Party (or Kuomingtang) candidate, defeated Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party 58 percent to 42 percent. Ma succeeds Chen Shui-bian, of the DPP, who stepped down after serving two four-year terms.
"The Kuomintang's victory is a victory for Taiwan," said Ma. During his victory speech, Ma added that his first priority will be to establish direct air links with China and allow mainland visitors to Taiwan.
"The world should take heart in last weekend’s election on Taiwan," said Professor Bill Alford, vice dean for International Legal Studies and a leading China scholar. "It not only affirmed democracy but elevated to the presidency Dr. Ma Ying-jeou -- a person of real intelligence, probity, and ingenuity. Even 30 years ago when we were students at Harvard Law School, it was clear that he would be making his mark on the world."
Born in Hong Kong, Ma and his family moved to Taiwan when he was a year old. A graduate of the Law School's S.J.D. program, Ma will be inaugurated on May 20 and begin serving a four-year term. He is 57.
Ma is not the only HLS alum to rise through the ranks of Taiwanese politics. Annette Hsiu-lien Lu LL.M. ’78, a member of the DPP, served as vice president for two terms. Lu did not receive her party's nomination for president earlier this year.
Other Harvard Law graduates to serve as heads of state include former Ireland president Mary Robinson LL.M. '68, and former U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes, a member of the HLS class of 1845.
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