Ismail Amat | |
|---|---|
| ئىسمائىل ئەھمەد 司马义·艾买提 | |
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| Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |
| In office 15 March 2003 – 15 March 2008 | |
| Chairman | Wu Bangguo |
| State Councilor of China | |
| In office 1993–2003 | |
| Premier | Li Peng→Zhu Rongji |
| Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference | |
| In office 10 April 1988 – 27 March 1993 | |
| Chairman | Li Xiannian |
| Director of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission | |
| In office 20 January 1986 – 18 March 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Yang Jingren |
| Succeeded by | Li Dezhu |
| Chairman of Xinjiang | |
| In office 1979–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Wang Feng |
| Succeeded by | Tömür Dawamat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 1935 |
| Died | 16 October 2018(2018-10-16) (aged 83) |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Alma mater | Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party |
Ismail Amat (Uyghur:ئىسمائىل ئەھمەد,romanized: Isma'il Ehmet;Chinese:司马义·艾买提;pinyin:Sīmǎyì Àimǎití; September 1935 – 16 October 2018) was a Chinese politician ofUyghur ethnicity who served asChairman of Xinjiang,State Councillor,Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress andVice Chairman of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
He was among the highest-rankingUyghur politicians sitting for decades in theCentral Government of People's Republic of China between 1979–2008.[1]
Ismail was born 1935 inQira County,Hotan Prefecture,Xinjiang Province,Republic of China.[1][2] His parents were poorUyghur peasants. From 1952 to 1954, he took part in the land reform movement in his hometown[1] and joined theChinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1953.[2] He rose quickly in the government of Qira and became thecounty magistrate in 1954 at the age of 19.[1]
In 1960, he was selected to study in Beijing at theCentral Party School of the CCP for two years. After returning to Xinjiang, he became deputy publicity head of Hotan Prefecture in 1963.[1][2]
During theCultural Revolution, Ismail was elevated to the regional government of Xinjiang in 1969 and elected to the10th Central Committee of the CCP in 1972. From 1971 to 1979 he served as Xinjiang's party secretary (then subordinate to the first secretary) and director of its Organization Department.[1][3]
In 1979, he became Chairman (Governor) of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region at the age of 44. During his six-year tenure, he oversaw Xinjiang's transition to amarket economy inDeng Xiaoping'sreform and opening era.[1]
In 1986, Ismail was elevated to the national government and becameDirector of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission,[3] a key position in charge of affairs concerning ethnic minorities, especially the Tibetans and Muslim groups such as the Uyghurs. As a prominent Muslim CCP leader, he served as a mouthpiece of China's ethnic policies and condemned separatist movements.[1] He served in the position until 1998, and concurrently as vice-chairman of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from 1988 to 1993. From 1993 to 2003 he also served as a vice-premier-levelState Councillor.[2][3] During his tenure there were multiple anti-Chinese protests in Xinjiang which were suppressed by the government.[1] Amat supported the official policy of harshly treating ethnic separatists while promoting economic growth and stability in minority regions.[1]
From 2003 to 2008 Ismail served as vice-chairman of the10th National People's Congress.[1] As one of the highest-ranking Uyghur or Muslim politicians in the history of the People's Republic of China, he frequently visited Central Asian nations and met with visiting dignitaries from Islamic countries.[1]
After theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, the United States captured a number of Chinese Uyghurs in theWar in Afghanistan and held them in theGuantanamo Bay detention camp. China considered the Uyghur detainees terrorists and demanded that the US hand them over to Chinese custody. When the demand was refused, Ismail condemned the US in 2006.[1]
Ismail served as a member of seven consecutiveCCP Central Committees, from the10th to the16th, spanning 45 years.[2][3]
Ismail Amat died on 16 October 2018 in Beijing, at the age of 83.[4] He was buried at theBabaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. CCPgeneral secretaryXi Jinping, Vice PresidentWang Qishan, former CCP general secretaryHu Jintao, otherCCP Politburo Standing Committee membersLi Zhanshu,Wang Yang,Wang Huning,Zhao Leji,Han Zheng and other top leaders attended his funeral.[5]
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
