Lee Hong-yuan was born in
Taishan,
Taipei County, to a family of farmers. His father, Lee Teng-hui (no relation to president
Lee Teng-hui), served as head of the district. His younger brother,
Lee Hung-chun, is also an engineer and politician. Lee graduated from
National Cheng Kung University with a bachelor's degree in
hydraulic engineering in 1978. He then completed graduate studies in the United States, where he earned a
Master of Science (M.S.) in 1982 and his
Ph.D. in 1984 from the
University of Iowa in
civil engineering and
environmental engineering under professor A. Jacob Odgaard. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Flow and Bed Characteristics in Alluvial Channel Bends." He was later inducted as a member of the university's Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy in 2008. Upon graduation, Lee worked in the United States for two years before returning to Taiwan in 1986 to teach at
National Taiwan University. Lee has also been a visiting professor at five universities in
China and in the
Netherlands. ==ROC Interior Ministry==