Jason Wang

**Jason Henry Wang** (born 2 April 1975) is a Hawaiian politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition since 2015 and Leader of the Progress Party since 2014. He was first elected to the National Assembly of Hawaii in 2005.

Wang was born in Honolulu, and graduated from Punahou School in 1993. After his graduation, Wang moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. He graduated from Columbia with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1997, and later received his master's degree from Columbia in 1999. After completing his education, Wang returned to Hawaii and began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2005, in order to begin a career in politics.

Wang's political career began after he was included on the Progress Party ticket for the 2005 Hawaiian general election. When the party won enough seats, Wang was elected to parliament. He has since won reelection in the 2010 and 2015 elections as well. In January 2014, Party Leader Davis King announced that he'd be resigning from his position and would not run for a second term in the 2015 election, triggering a leadership election. Wang soon declared his candidacy, eventually winning the election. He took office as Party Leader on 27 March 2014. As Party Leader, Wang led the party in the 2015 election. The election was seen as a major victory for the party, doubling their seat count and becoming the main opposition party to the center-right government coalition; this effectively made Wang Leader of the Opposition.

Wang has been theorized as a probable future Prime Minister by political pundits, following the 2020 or 2025 elections.

## Early life and family

Wang was born on 2 April 1975 in Honolulu to parents Gerry and Lisa Wang (née *Williams*). His paternal great-grandparents came to Hawaii from Taiwan, while his mother's family is of English, Dutch, German, Irish, and Welsh origin. Both Gerry and Lisa worked as attorneys, and met while attending the University of Hawaii School of Law. Wang grew up in the affluent Diamond Head neighborhood of Honolulu. He is the youngest of three children; his elder siblings include Paul, born  (1970-10-04) 4 October 1970 (age 53), and Kirsten, born  (1973-07-19) 19 July 1973 (age 50). Both Paul and Kirsten work as attorneys.

## Education and early career

Wang attended private schooling in Honolulu. He began studying at Punahou School, an independent coeducational K–12 school, in 1980. Wang began high school at Punahou in 1989, later graduating in 1993 as his class's valedictorian. While a high school student, Wang was a varsity athlete, playing baseball and captaining his soccer team. He was also a popular student, winning prom king, serving as class president, and winning "Most Popular", "Most Likely to Become Prime Minister", and "Most Likely to Succeed" as his senior superlatives.

After graduating from high school, Wang moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. At Columbia, Wang majored in political science and graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1997. He remained in New York City afterwards, and received a master's degree in political science from Columbia in 1999. After graduating, he returned to Hawaii and began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2005, in order to begin a career in politics.

## Political career

### National Assembly

In 2004, Wang was invited by the by the Progress Party to be included on their ticket for the 2005 Hawaiian general election. The party ultimately won enough seats for Wang to be seated, and he became a member of the National Assembly. He has since won reelection in the 2010 and 2015 elections as well.

### Leader of the Opposition

In January 2014, Party Leader Davis King announced that he'd be resigning from his position and would not run for a second term in the 2015 election, triggering a leadership election. Wang soon declared his candidacy, eventually winning the election. He took office as Party Leader on 27 March 2014. As Party Leader, Wang led the party in the 2015 election. The election was seen as a major victory for the party, doubling their seat count and becoming the main opposition party to the center-right government coalition; this effectively made Wang Leader of the Opposition.

Wang has been theorized as a probable future Prime Minister by political pundits, following the 2020 or 2025 elections.

## Personal life

Wang began a relationship with Hawaiian interior designer Eve Krause in 2004. They became engaged in 2006, and married a year later. Wang and Krause have two daughters together; their children include Maisy, born  (2009-08-03) 3 August 2009 (age 14), and Lily, born  (2011-03-17) 17 March 2011 (age 12). The family resides in East Honolulu.