Therese Shaheen

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Therese Shaheen (夏馨), a businesswoman and entrepreneur, was Chairman and Managing Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) from 2002 to 2004.

Therese Shaheen founded in 1987 an investment and technology development company that focused on emerging economies in Asia. In 2002, she was tapped by President George W. Bush to serve as the first woman Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S. State Department-affiliated representational office for Taiwan. She served during an important period in U.S.-PRC-Taiwan history, and was seen in Taiwan as a forceful representative of the President and the United States. After the Taiwan elections in March 2004, Shaheen resigned her position to return to her private sector businesses. She remains a popular figure in Taiwan for her outspoken support of the island's commitment to freedom and self-government.