Charles Djou

Charles Djou
Official portrait, 2022
Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission
Incumbent
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 (1970-08-09) August 9, 1970 (age 54) 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
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōu Yǒngkāng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Zau1 Wing5 Hong1

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]