Chen Jining

Chen Jining
陈吉宁
Minister of Environmental Protection
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2015
Premier	Li Keqiang
Preceded by	Zhou Shengxian
President of Tsinghua University
In office February 2012 – January 2015
Preceded by	Gu Binglin
Succeeded by	Qiu Yong
Personal details
Born	February 1964 (age 52) Gaizhou, Liaoning, China
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	Tsinghua University Brunel University London Imperial College London
Occupation	Politician, educator

Chen Jining (simplified Chinese: 陈吉宁; traditional Chinese: 陳吉寧; pinyin: Chén Jíníng; born February 1964) is the current Minister of Environmental Protection, People's Republic of China.^[1] Previously he served as the President of Tsinghua University from February 2012 to January 2015.^[2]

Chen was elected as a member of the 12th National People's Congress in 2013.^[3]

Early life and education

Chen was born and raised in Gaizhou, Liaoning, with his ancestral home in Lishu County, Jilin. He attended Tsinghua University from September 1981 to September 1986, graduating with a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering. Then he was educated in Brunel University London and Imperial College London, he earned a doctorate in civil engineering from Imperial College London in 1993, where he worked as a research assistant after graduation.^[4][1]

Career

In March 1998 he became the Deputy Director of the Environmental Engineering Department of Tsinghua University, rising to Director the next year. In February 2006 he was Vice-President of Tsinghua University, a year later, he was promoted to become the Executive Vice-President. He concurrently served as Dean of the Graduate School of Tsinghua University from January 2010 to February 2012, Dean of the Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University between January 2010 to July 2011. In February 2012, he was appointed the President of Tsinghua University,^[5] he remained in that position until January 2015, when he was appointed Minister of Environmental Protection, People's Republic of China.^[6] At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest member of Li Keqiang's cabinet.^[6]

References

1. Bo Zhiyue (2015-03-04). "China's New Environmental Minister: A Rising Star". The Diplomat.
2. "State Council Appoints Dr. Chen Jining President Tsinghua University". Tsinghua University. 2012-02-21. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
3. 全国人大代表信息-陈吉宁 (in Chinese). National People's Congress. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
4. "Chen Jining: Environmental Protector". China Pictorial. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
5. 陈吉宁任清华校长. Xinhua News. 2012-02-20. (Chinese)
6. 清华大学校长陈吉宁获任环保部长 成李克强政府最年轻“阁员” (in Chinese). 2015-02-28. Retrieved 2015-03-01.