Lien, a native of Tainan, obtained his doctoral degree in political science from the University of Chicago. Before assuming his present post, he was dean of the department of political science at the prestigious National Taiwan University, and ambassador to El Salvador.
連戰今年四十五歲，是台灣省台南市人，美國芝加哥大學政治學博士，曾任台灣大學政治系系主任、政研所所長、我國駐薩爾瓦多大使… … 等職。