Fourth-generation leader who ran the party from 2002 to 2012 under the Scientific Outlook on Development and the Harmonious Society
Born in Tai County, Jiangsu, in 1942, he joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1964 while studying hydraulic engineering at Tsinghua University. After engineering work in Gansu he became first secretary of the Communist Youth League in 1984, then party secretary of Guizhou and of Tibet, where his harsh repression of dissent drew Beijing's attention. Promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee in 1992 at 49, he became Jiang Zemin's presumed successor. As general secretary from 2002 and president from 2003 he governed with premier Wen Jiabao under the Scientific Outlook on Development and the Harmonious Society, restoring some state control and widening healthcare. He handled the 2008 Tibetan unrest and the 2009 Ürümqi riots, passed the Anti-Secession Law and signed a trade agreement with Taiwan. He retired voluntarily from all his posts in 2012–2013.
Activities and affiliations
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1964–
Political and party leadership
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2002–2012
Communist Party of ChinaGeneral Secretary of the CCP Central CommitteeHeads of state, government and party of ChinaMain
Political and party leadership -
2003–2013
People’s Republic of China state institutionsPresident of the People's Republic of ChinaHeads of state, government and party of China
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1964.04Joined the Chinese Communist Party
- 1968Technician at the Liujiaxia engineering bureau in Gansu
- 1974Gansu provincial construction commission
- 1984.12First Secretary of the Communist Youth League
- 1985.07Party Secretary of Guizhou
- 1989.01Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region
- 1992.10.19Member of the Politburo Standing Committee and of the Central Secretariat
- 1998.03.15Vice-President of the PRC
- 2002.11.15–2012.11.15General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee
- 2003.03.15–2013.03.14President of the PRC
- 2004.09.19–2012.11.15Chairman of the party Central Military Commission