Xi Jinping, President of China (elected on Nov 15, 2012)
Xi Jinping (pinyin: Xí Jìnpíng; pronounced [ɕǐ tɕînpʰǐŋ], born 1 June 1953) is the current “paramount leader” of the People’s Republic of China. He currently serves as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the country’s Vice President, the President of the Central Party School and the 1st ranked member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, China’s de facto top power organ. He served as the top-ranked member of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Son of communist veteran Xi Zhongxun (1913–2002), Xi Jinping served mostly in Fujian province in his early career. He was later appointed party chief of the neighboring Zhejiang province, and then was appointed as Shanghai’s party chief following the dismissal of Chen Liangyu. Known for his tough stance on corruption and a frank openness about political and market economy reforms, Xi’s combination of positions makes him the presumptive heir to former General Secretary Hu Jintao and the “paramount leader” of the Communist Party of China’s fifth generation of leadership.
China’s new leader Xi Jinping will lead the economy of the People’s Republic of China along with 6 other top official members. Some new members in leadership include Li Keqiang and Wang Qishan. The seven membership group is dubbed as the “Politburo Standing Committee” and some predict that China’s new leadership will be less progressive.
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Hu Jintao, President of China (till March, 2013)
Hu Jintao, a native of Jixi, Anhui Province, was born in December 1942. He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in April 1964 and began to work in July 1965 after he graduated from the Water Conservancy Engineering Department of Tsinghua University, majored in hub hydropower stations.
1959-1964: Student at the Water Conservancy Engineering Department of Tsinghua University.
1964-1965: Postgraduate and political instructor at the Water Conservancy Engineering Department of Tsinghua University.
1965-1968: Participated in R&D at the Water Conservancy Engineering Department of Tsinghua University and served as political instructor before the start of the “cultural revolution.”
1968-1969: Worked with the housing construction team of Liujia Gorge Engineering Bureau, Ministry of Water Conservancy.
1969-1974: Technician and secretary of No. 813 Sub-Bureau, Fourth Engineering Bureau, Ministry of Water Conservancy and deputy-secretary of the general Party branch of the sub-bureau’s head office.
1974-1975: Secretary of the Gansu Provincial Construction Committee (GPCC).
1975-1980: Deputy director of the design management division, GPCC.
1980-1982: Vice chairman of GPCC and secretary of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.
1984-1985: First secretary, Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.
1985-1988: Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee.
1988-1992: Secretary of the Party Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region.
1992-1993: Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
1993-1998: Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
1998-1999: Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, vice president of the People’s Republic of China, president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
1999-2002: Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, vice president of the People’s Republic of China, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People’s Republic of China, president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
2002-March 2003: General secretary of the CPC Central Committee, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and vice president of the People’s Republic of China.
March 15, 2003: Elected president of the People’s Republic of China.
September 19, 2004: Elected chairman of the Central Military Commission.
March 13, 2005: Elected chairman of the state Central Military Commission.
He was an alternate member, member of the 12th CPC Central Committee, member of the 13th, 14th and 15th CPC Central Committees and is a member of the 16th CPC Central Committee. He was a member of the Political Bureau and its Standing Committee, and member of the Secretariat of the 14th and 15th CPC Central Committees and is a member of the Political Bureau and of its Standing Committee, and general secretary of the 16th CPC Central Committee. He was elected vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the 6th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
