In May 2022, President Joseph R. Biden appointed Charles K. Djou to serve as the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.
An Afghanistan war veteran, Djou served for over 20 years in the US Army Reserve, achieving the rank of colonel. In Operation Enduring Freedom, Djou deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011-12. In the Army, Djou served with units based in Hawaii, California, Alaska, South Korea, and Germany.
Djou is a former Member of Congress, Hawaii, 1st Congressional District, where he served on the House Armed Services Committee and House Budget Committee. He also won elections to the Hawaii State House of Representatives, where he was the Minority (Republican) Floor Leader; and the Honolulu City Council where he was Chair of the Zoning Committee. Outside of politics, Djou taught at the University of Hawaii law school and more recently at Hawaii Pacific University.
Djou attended college and earned a business degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance, a law degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and holds a MA (Strategic Studies) from the US Army War College.
He and his wife are both lifelong residents of Hawaii and together happily raising their son and two daughters (and a dog) in the Aloha State.