Melissa Lee
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Melissa Lee MP |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for National Party List |
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Assumed office 2008 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
이지연 (Lee Ji-yeon) 1966 South Korea |
| Nationality |
South Korea Malaysia New Zealand |
| Political party | New Zealand National Party |
Melissa Ji-Yun Lee (Korean: 이지연, Lee Ji-yeon) (born circa 1966) is a New Zealand politician. She was elected to the House of Representatives as a list MP for the National Party in the 2008 election. As of 2015[update] she is Parliamentary Private Secretary for Ethnic Communities under Hon Sam Lotu-Iiga.
Lee was born in South Korea and grew up in Malaysia before moving to Australia and then to New Zealand in 1988 with her family. She has a MA Hons (First Class) in Communication Studies. Based in Auckland, She spent twenty three years in journalism including a five-year stint at the Sunday News and writing for numerous publications including the New Zealand Herald and The Listener. She was also the producer of the TV magazine series, Asia Downunder.
In November 2008, Lee became a List MP in the New Zealand Parliament. Her maiden speech included sections in English, Māori, and Korean. In English, she mentioned crime, education, and anti-Asian racism issues in New Zealand. In the Māori section, she mentioned the history of Māori first coming to New Zealand by canoe from Hawaiki and compared it to her own migration to New Zealand by aeroplane. Near the end of her speech, she thanked, in Korean, all the people that had given her support "simply by virtue of [their] shared heritage".
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