Chen Ding-nan

A portrait of Chen Ding-nan.

Chen Ding-nan ( Chinese  陳定南  /  陈定南 , Pinyin Chén Dìngnán ; born September 29, 1943 in Yilan , † November 5, 2006 in Taipei ) was a Taiwanese politician.

After studying law at National Taiwan University , which he graduated with a Bachelor of Law in 1966 , Chen worked in the economy of his home province.

In 1981, as a non- party, he became the first administrator of Yilan County , which had not been part of the Kuomintang , which had ruled for decades , and was re-elected in 1985.

After completing his second term, Chen successfully ran for parliament ( Legislative Yuan ) for the Yilan constituency in 1989 and was subsequently re-elected in 1992, 1995 and 1998. In 1993 he joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In 1994 he was defeated by his rival candidate James Soong in his candidacy for governor of Taiwan Province .

On May 20, 2000, recently elected President Chen Shui-bian named him Minister of Justice . He was a member of its government until May 31, 2005. During his tenure in office, Chen worked to reduce organized crime. In addition, he was known as "Mr. Clean “well-known politicians respected for its simple way of life and its closeness to the people.

In late 2005, Chen ran again as administrator of Yilan County, but this time defeated the Kuomintang candidate.

After several months of illness, he died of lung cancer on November 5, 2006 in Taipei University Hospital .

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Chen is the family name here, Ding-nan is the first name.