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Liu Yandong | |
|---|---|
| 刘延东 | |
 Liu in 2016 | |
| Vice Premier of China | |
| In office March 16, 2013 – March 19, 2018 | |
| Premier | Li Keqiang |
| State Councilor of China | |
| In office March 17, 2008 – March 16, 2013 | |
| Premier | Wen Jiabao |
| Head of the United Front Work Department | |
| In office December 5, 2002 – December 2, 2007 | |
| General Secretary | Hu Jintao |
| Preceded by | Wang Zhaoguo |
| Succeeded by | Du Qinglin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 1945 (age 79–80) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Alma mater | Tsinghua University |
| Signature |  |
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| Liu Yandong | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 刘延东 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 劉延東 | ||||||
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Liu Yandong(Chinese:刘延东; born November 1945) is a retired Chinese politician. She recently served as theVice Premier of China, and was a member of thePolitburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2017, aState Councilor between 2007 and 2012, and washead of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party between 2002 and 2007.
A graduate ofTsinghua University, Liu's career has long been associated with her fellow alumnus and Communist Youth League colleagueHu Jintao. As such Chinese-language media has sometimes labelled Liu as part of the so-called "Tuanpai", or "Youth League clique". After the retirement of Vice PremierWu Yi, Liu was the highest-ranked female political figure in China, and one of only three women to have had a seat on the Politburo, the others being Wu and retired second Vice PremierSun Chunlan.[1]
Liu Yandong was born in November 1945 inNantong County,Jiangsu,[2] in what was then Republic of China. Her father Liu Ruilong was one of the founders of the 14th Army of the Reds, an early Communist revolutionary militia force. As her father was of a revolutionary background, she has been classified by some analysts as aprinceling. Liu entered the prestigiousTsinghua University in 1964, weathered theCultural Revolution, and graduated in 1970 with a degree inchemistry. While in college, Liu was a part-time political instructor.
Shortly after graduation, Liu began work at a chemical production plant inTangshan, an industrial city in northeastern China, in what was likely an assignment by the state. In 1980, she was transferred to work for the party organization in Beijing, in 1981 she was made deputy Party Secretary ofChaoyang District. In 1982, Liu began working for theCommunist Youth League, where she worked with contemporariesWang Zhaoguo,Hu Jintao, andSong Defu. She worked at the Youth League for nine years. During this time she served as Chairwoman of theAll-China Youth Federation.
In March 1991, she began working at theUnited Front Work Department as its deputy secretary-general. The mandate of the United Front is essentially to keep non-Communist political and civic organizations in line with the overarching ideologies of the Communist Party. During her term at the department, she gained on-the-job master's and doctorate degrees atRenmin University andJilin University.
Between 2002 and 2007, she served as thehead of the United Front Work Department. In March 2002 she was also elected Vice Chair of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Having long been an ally of Party General SecretaryHu Jintao and ascended from the ranks of the Communist Youth League, she entered the 17thPolitburo of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007. Widely speculated to become Vice-Premier in an upcoming leadership reshuffle, by 2007, Liu was the sole woman with a seat on the Politburo and the highest ranked female politician in China. At the2008 National People's Congress she was electedState Councilor, and was not elected as a Vice-Premier. She was also deputy chair of theBeijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.
At the18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, she was elected to the18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. She became the first woman sinceDeng Yingchao to serve consecutive terms on the Politburo. A few months later, at the first plenary session of the12th National People's Congress in 2013, she was also appointed Vice Premier inLi Keqiang Government, second in rank, overseeing the broad portfolios of health, education, and sports. Since 2013, Liu has been the leader of theLeading Group for Health Care Reform. Liu retired from politics in 2018.
Liu is married. On April 13, 2009,Stony Brook University conferred upon Madame Liu Yandong an HonoraryDoctor of Laws.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Head of the United Front Work Department 2002–2007 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
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