Jia Qinglin | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 贾庆林 | |||||||||||
 Jia in 2011 | |||||||||||
| 7thChairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference | |||||||||||
| In office 13 March 2003 – 11 March 2013 | |||||||||||
| Deputy | Wang Gang | ||||||||||
| Preceded by | Li Ruihuan | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Yu Zhengsheng | ||||||||||
| Party Secretary of Beijing | |||||||||||
| In office 25 August 1997 – 22 October 2002 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Wei Jianxing | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Liu Qi | ||||||||||
| Party Secretary of Fujian | |||||||||||
| In office 30 December 1993 – 28 October 1996 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Chen Guangyi | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chen Mingyi | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | (1940-03-13)13 March 1940 (age 85) Botou, Hebei, China | ||||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Lin Youfang | ||||||||||
| Children | 1 son, 1 daughter | ||||||||||
| Relatives | Li Pak-tam (son-in-law) Jasmine Li (grandchild) | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Hebei University of Technology | ||||||||||
| Profession | Engineer | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 賈慶林 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 贾庆林 | ||||||||||
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Jia Qinglin (Chinese:贾庆林; born 13 March 1940) is a retired senior leader of thePeople's Republic of China and of the rulingChinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP'sPolitburo Standing Committee, the party's highest ruling organ, between 2002 and 2012, andChairman of the National Committee of thePeople's Political Consultative Conference between 2003 and 2013.[1]
Jia, an engineer by trade, began his political career inFujian in 1985. There, he rose steadily through the ranks and led the province during theYuanhua scandal. In 1996, Jia was transferred to become mayor, then party chief of Beijing.[2] Largely due to his patronage relationship with then General SecretaryJiang Zemin, Jia was promoted to the Politburo in 1997, and remained a mainstay figure in China's political elite for the next fifteen years.[3] He retired in 2013.[4]
Jia Qinglin was born in 13 March 1940 in rural Jiaohe County (nowBotou), Hebei, to an ordinary family of farmers. Owing to his academic ability, he was admitted to the Shijiazhuang Industrial Management School and majored in industrial enterprise planning. Starting in 1958, he began studying electrical motor and appliance design and manufacturing at the Hebei Institute of Technology (nowHebei University of Technology). After graduating in 1962, he was assigned a technician position at the First Machine-Building Ministry and became involved in theCommunist Youth League.[5]
During the Cultural Revolution, Jia joined his educated contemporaries to perform manual labor at theMay 7 Cadre School at the First Machine Building Ministry inFengxin County, Jiangxi Province. In 1971, he began work at the Policy Research Office of the First Machine-Building Industry Ministry. In 1973, he was promoted to chief of the product management bureau of the First Ministry of Machine-building Industry. In 1978, he was named general manager of the China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation. In 1983, he became director of Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Plant and its party secretary.[6]
As part of wider national efforts by the Communist Party to make officials across the country more youthful and educated, in 1985, Jia made his foray into regional politics, being admitted to the Fujianprovincial party standing committee and serving as deputy party secretary. He later also took on the concurrent role as head of party organization in Fujian. In 1990, he was promoted to acting governor, confirmed in 1991. In 1993, Jia was promoted toParty Secretary of Fujian, the top office in the coastal province. When Jia was the party secretary of Fujian,Xi Jinping, the current General Secretary, was the deputy party secretary of Fujian from 1996.[6]
Sometime during the 1990s, Jia gained the confidence of then-General SecretaryJiang Zemin, with whom he developed apatron-client relationship. Jia was transferred to Beijing in 1996 to serve as mayor, and in 1997 was promoted to the position of party secretary, helping Jiang consolidate the city's political landscape afterChen Xitong was ousted on corruption charges. As Beijing party chief, Jia became a member of the Communist Party's ruling Politburo. He also came onto the national and international spotlight during the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the People's Republic of China as the event's master of ceremonies, reading prepared lines atop theTiananmen Gate to millions of onlookers and television audiences.[2]
Because of his high local position and his ties to Jiang, in November 2002, Jia was named to the16th Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) of theChinese Communist Party.[7] Although his ceremonial role as the Chairman of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a quasi-consultative upper house in China's political system, made him fourth in the official order of precedence, it was widely accepted that the position carried very little power, perhaps the least powerful in the nine PSC members. Jia Qinglin was the most senior Chinese official to attend the funeral ofZhao Ziyang. With the transition of authority toHu Jintao, Jia appeared to have been given the job of coordinating policy onTaiwan.[2][8]
In 2007, Jia was named again to the17th Politburo Standing Committee during the17th Party Congress. Prior to the congress, it was speculated that Jia may be thrown out of the running due to his tainted record as the party chief of Fujian during the Yuanhua scandal. However, largely owing to the backing of Jiang Zemin, Jia was able to remain on the body for one more term.[3]
Jia exited from the Politburo Standing Committee in 2012 after reaching retirement age. He retired from politics for good in March 2013, when he relinquished his CPPCC post on schedule toYu Zhengsheng.[5] Jia continued to make public appearances in retirement. On 5 September 2015, Jia appeared at theChina Victory Day Parade. On 21 December 2015, Jia visitedLiancheng County in Fujian. In June 2016, Jia attended a science and innovation exhibition at theBeijing Exhibition Center. In October 2016, Jia showed up at the World Robot Conference in Beijing. On 17 May 2017, Jia met with Hebei University of Technology alumni atZhongnanhai.[9]
The financial dealings of Jia's granddaughter Jasmine Li (李紫丹) and son-in-lawLi Pak-tam were reported on by media during thePanama Papers scandal;[10] Jasmine had been featured on Chinese tabloids for appearing at aHotel de Crillondebutante ball in Paris in 2009 wearing aCarolina Herrera designer gown.[11]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee 2003–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Party Secretary of Fujian 1993–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Party Secretary of Beijing 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Fujian 1990–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Beijing 1996–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Wen Jiabao Premier | 4thRank of the Chinese Communist Party 17thPolitburo Standing Committee | Succeeded by Li Changchun Propaganda Chairman |
| 4thRank of the Chinese Communist Party 16thPolitburo Standing Committee | Succeeded by Zeng Qinghong Vice President | |
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
