Member Biography

37th Parliament Members
at dissolution on April 19, 2005

Photo of MLA

MLA: Richard T. Lee 

Burnaby North

Elected: 2001

BRITISH COLUMBIA LIBERAL PARTY

Richard Lee was first elected as MLA in the riding of Burnaby North in the 2001 provincial general election. Richard currently serves as a member of the Government Caucus Committee on Economy and Government Operations, the Government Caucus Multicultural Committee and Chair of the Government Caucus Asian Economic Development Committee.

He is also a member of the Legislative Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services; a member of the Legislative Select Standing Committee on Education; a member of the Legislative Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, and the Vice-chair of the Legislative Special Committee to Appoint a Merit Commissioner.

Previously, Richard was a programmer analyst at TRIUMF, Canada's national particle research facility. In 1976 he earned a Combined Honours Bachelor of Science degree from UBC in physics and mathematics and in 1980 a Masters of Science from UBC in Applied Mathematics. While studying, Richard worked as a research assistant from 1975 to 1977 and then as a teaching assistant from 1977 to 1979 with the Department of Mathematics in UBC. From 1979 to 1982 he worked as a programmer at TRIUMF and in 1982 became a programmer analyst. Richard attended the United States Particle Accelerator School at Berkeley in 1989 and once again in 1990 at Harvard University.

Richard's community service included: British Columbia Heritage Language Association director; Burnaby District Parents’ Advisory Council member, and Burnaby Chinese Parents Association vice-president; Burnaby Multicultural Society director; Burnaby Voters Non-Partisan Association director; Civic Education Society director; Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement chairperson; and, British Columbia Table Tennis Association Honorary President.

Born in 1954, Richard and his wife Anne married in 1986 and have lived in the constituency since then. They now have three children. Richard enjoys badminton, basketball, table tennis and bridge.