Ho Chih-chin

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ho.

Ho Chih-chin (Chinese: 何志欽; pinyin: Hé Zhìqīn; 16 June 1952 – 8 November 2016) was a Taiwanese economist who served as the Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2008.

Ho Chih-chin
何志欽
Minister of Finance
In office 4 July 2006 – 13 March 2008
Preceded by	Joseph Lyu
Succeeded by	Lee Ruey-tsang (acting) Lee Sush-der
Personal details
Born	(1952-06-16)16 June 1952
Died	8 November 2016(2016-11-08) (aged 64) Taipei, Taiwan
Education	National Taiwan University (BA) University of Michigan (PhD)

Education

Ho was born in Taiwan to Dr. Ho Jen-Ching and Hsiao Ten-Hsin. He had a sister, Ho Li-Chin.^[1]

Ho graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1974. He then completed doctoral studies in the United States at the University of Michigan, where he earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1987. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Determinants of U.S. Interregional Trade Patterns: An Empirical Assessment (United States)," and was completed under professors Robert M. Stern and Alan Deardorff.^[1]

Early career

After receiving his doctorate from the University of Michigan, Ho worked for the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2003, he returned to Taiwan to teach at National Taiwan University.^[2]

Ministry of Finance

After the resignation of incumbent Finance Minister Joseph Lyu was approved by Premier Su Tseng-chang on 29 June 2006, Ho was appointed to the ministerial post and assumed the position on 4 July.^[3] During his term in office, Ho reformed the consolidated income tax and estate and gift tax systems.^[2] After multiple resignation attempts, Ho himself left office in 2008, notifying Su's successor Chang Chun-hsiung of his intentions on 13 March.^[4]

Later career and death

Ho was appointed the President of National Taipei University in August 2015. He died on 8 November 2016 at National Taiwan University Hospital, aged 64.^[2]