Li Keqiang

Infobox President


name = Li Keqiang
李克强
order = 11th CPC Liaoning Committee Secretary
term_start = December 2004
term_end = October 2007
predecessor = Wen Shizhen
successor = Zhang Wenyue
deputy = Zhang Wenyue
order2 = 12th CPC Henan Committee Secretary
term_start2 = June 1998
term_end2 = December 2004
predecessor2 = Chen Kuiyuan
successor2 = Xu Guangchun
deputy2 = Li Chengyu
order1 = 9th Executive Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
term_start1 = 2008
term_end1 =
predecessor1 = Wu Yi (acting)
successor1 =
premier1 = Wen Jiabao
birth_date = July 1955
birth_place = flagicon|PRC Dingyuan, Anhui
death_date =
death_place =
party = Communist Party of China
alma_mater = Peking University
spouse =
religion =

Li Keqiang (zh-cp|c=|p=Lǐ Kèqíang, born July 1955) is currently the Executive Vice-Premier of China and the 7th ranked member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee, the People's Republic of China's "de facto" top power organ. Having previously served as Governor of Henan and the province's CPC party chief from 1998 to 2004, and then the Liaoning party chief, an office that makes him first-in-charge in that province. Li is speculated as one of the likely successors to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao in the "fifth generation" of CPC leadership.

Biography

Li was born in Dingyuan, Anhui in 1955. He received his LLB, and later a PhD in Economics from Peking University. He entered the top leadership of the Communist Youth League (CYL) in 1982, and has worked closely with current President Hu Jintao since. He is a representative member of the first generation to have risen from the CYL leadership.

Li became China's youngest governor when appointed to be in charge of Henan, one of China's most populous provinces, in June 1998, at the age of 43. Knowing the complicated situation Henan was in, and the issues associated with networking in the province, Li consciously left his family in Beijing to head to Zhengzhou alone. In addition, according to provincial government officials working with him at the time, Li refused to participate in any banquets or large fancy events not related to government activities [ [http://www3.chinesenewsnet.com/gb/MainNews/Forums/BackStage/2007_6_10_0_11_42_172.html Duowei: Li Keqiang helps Henan fight off the poverty] ] .

He is known to be outspoken with a sharp tongue, and led economic development in the central Chinese province, transforming the poor inland region into an attractive area for investment. Li wasted little time in pursuing superficial projects, but rather trekked all regions of Henan trying to search for a comprehensive solution to the province's growing problems. Henan jumped in national GDP rankings from 28th in the early 1990s to 18th in 2004, when Li left Henan.

He was transferred to work as the CPC Committee Secretary in Liaoning in December 2004. In Liaoning he is known for the "Five-points to one Line" project, where he linked up Dalian and Dandong, as well as a series of other ports into a comprehensive network. Predictions he would eventually advance to the national level at the 17th Party Congress proved correct when he was elected to the Politburo Standing Committee in October 2007. He was succeeded in his provincial post by Governor Zhang Wenyue.

Li has been touted as a possible successor to Hu Jintao, whose second term as General Secretary, expected to be his last, will end in 2012. At the 2008 National People's Congress, he was elected Vice-Premier, first in rank. This position makes it seem more likely that he will succeed Premier Wen Jiabao.

References

External links

* [http://www3.chinesenewsnet.com/gb/MainNews/Forums/BackStage/2007_6_10_0_11_42_172.html 中国政治明星李克强甩掉河南“穷帽子”]
* [http://a-louie.com/content/view/44/2/ A Louie & Associates Articles: President Hu's Top 4 Aides (2007)]
* [http://www6.chinesenewsnet.com/MainNews/SinoNews/Mainland/2007_10_1_21_59_42_979.html 胡錦濤愛將李克強的仕途和足跡]