William Yee Explained

William Yee
Office:Member of the Legislative Council for Suva General
Term Start:1966
Term End:1972
Office2:Member of the House of Representatives for Suva/Central General
Term Start2:1972
Term End2:1982
Successor2:James Ah Koy
Birth Date:18 July 1928
Birth Place:Zhongshan, China
Party:Alliance Party
Profession:Civil engineer[1]

Hon Wing William Yee (born 18 July 1928) was a Fijian engineer and politician. He was the first Chinese Fijian to be elected to the Legislative Council.[2]

Biography

Yee was born in Zhongshan in China, before moving to Fiji as a child. He attended the Marist Brothers High School in Suva and St Bede's College in Canterbury.[1] He then studied engineering at the University of Auckland,[1] and was the first Fijian Chinese to earn a degree in the subject.[3]

Political career

The 1966 general elections were the first in which Chinese Fijians were able to vote. Yee was an Alliance Party candidate in the three-seat General constituency of Suva, and was elected by a margin of 90 votes. In the 1972 elections he was re-elected in the Suva/Central General constituency of the House of Representatives. He was re-elected again in March 1977 and September 1977, by which time the constituency had been renamed Suva/Central.[4]

Other roles

In 1975 Yee became chairman of the new Chinese Education Society and worked as school manager of the Yat Sen School.[5] He remained chairman until 1983, and held the post again between 1987 and 1996.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Pacific Islands Year Book and Who's Who 1968, p690
  2. Bessie Ng Kumlin Ali (2002) Chinese in Fiji, p188
  3. Pacific Islands Monthly, 1955
  4. http://fijielections.blogspot.com/2017/02/september-1977-fiji-house-of.html September 1977 Fiji House of Representatives elections
  5. Ng Kumlin Ali, p156