William Yee

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]

William Yee
Member of the Legislative Council for Suva General
In office
1966–1972
Member of the House of Representatives for Suva/Central General
In office
1972–1982
Succeeded byJames Ah Koy
Personal details
Born18 July 1928
Zhongshan, China
Political partyAlliance Party
ProfessionCivil engineer[1]

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]

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. September 1977 Fiji House of Representatives elections Fiji Elections
  5. Ng Kumlin Ali, p156
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