David Wu | |||||||
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 1st district | |||||||
In office January 3, 1999 – August 3, 2011 | |||||||
Preceded by | Elizabeth Furse | ||||||
Succeeded by | Suzanne Bonamici | ||||||
Personal details | |||||||
Born | Hsinchu, Taiwan | April 8, 1955||||||
Political party | Democratic | ||||||
Spouse |
Michelle Reinmiller
(m. 1996; div. 2009) | ||||||
Education | Stanford University (BS) Harvard University Yale University (JD) | ||||||
Signature | |||||||
Chinese name | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 吳振偉 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 吴振伟 | ||||||
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David Wu (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Wu was born in Taiwan, immigrated to the United States as a child, and graduated from Stanford University. After attending Harvard Medical School, he earned a law degree from Yale University. He was the first Taiwanese American[1] to serve in the House of Representatives. Wu announced that he would resign from office following resolution of the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, days after reports surfaced that an 18-year-old woman had left a voicemail at Wu's campaign office accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter.[2][3] Wu acknowledged the encounter and said it was consensual.
Wu submitted his resignation on August 3, 2011. A special election was held on January 31, 2012, to fill the vacancy in advance of the regular 2012 election.[4] Democrat Suzanne Bonamici defeated Republican challenger Rob Cornilles to win this special election.
Since his resignation, Wu has remained in the Washington, D.C. area. He has been raising money for local Democratic parties, and organizing student exchange programs between the Chinese and American space programs.[5]