Han Zheng

Han Zheng
韩正
Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 November 2012
Deputy	Yang Xiong (mayor) Ying Yong
Preceded by	Yu Zhengsheng
In office 24 September 2006 – 24 March 2007
Preceded by	Chen Liangyu
Succeeded by	Xi Jinping
Mayor of Shanghai
In office 24 March 2007 – 26 December 2012
Preceded by	Chen Liangyu
Succeeded by	Yang Xiong
Personal details
Born	April 1954 (age 62) Shanghai, China
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	East China Normal University

Han Zheng (Chinese: 韩正; pinyin: Hán Zhèng; born April 1954) is a Chinese politician, the Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai, and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China. He served as Mayor of Shanghai between 2003 and 2012 and briefly acted as Party Secretary between 2006 and 2007 when his predecessor Chen Liangyu was removed from power. In November 2012 he was promoted to become the Party Secretary of Shanghai, the top political post in the city.^[1] Han was once considered a member of the Shanghai clique.

Early career

He was born in Shanghai, but traces his ancestry to Cixi, in neighbouring Zhejiang province.^[2] He began work as a labourer at a warehouse in the latter years of the Cultural Revolution. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1979. He then worked at a chemical equipment company in an administrative role. Beginning in 1986, Han began working as a senior administrator at the municipal chemical engineering college, then worked as party chief at the Shanghai Rubber Shoe Factory. By 1988, Han oversaw the party organization at the Shanghai Greater China Rubber Shoe Factory, and was praised by then Shanghai mayor Zhu Rongji.^[3]

In June 1990, Han officially entered the Communist Youth League organization of Shanghai, and would rise to become its deputy secretary in charge of day-to-day work, then elevated to secretary (head) in 1991. In November 1992 he was named governor of Luwan District. During his tenure in the district, Han spearheaded the Huaihai Road revitalization initiative, transforming the street to a glamorous shopping destination. Han also focused on fixing the ecology of the district and expanding its green spaces. He then obtained a master's degree from East China Normal University and earned the title of senior economist.^[4]

In July 1995, Han was named deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government, during which he was in charge of a committee on the economy, the municipal planning commission, and the director of the office in charge of securities regulations. In December 1997, he was named a member of the municipal Party Standing Committee for the first time, entering sub-provincial ranks. In February 1998 he was named vice-mayor of Shanghai; in May 2002 he was named Deputy Party Secretary of Shanghai.^[4]

Han joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at the 16th Party Congress in 2002. In 2003 he was named the Mayor of Shanghai at age 48, the youngest Mayor the city has seen in fifty years. A vocal advocate of the Shanghai real estate boom, Han has a largely positive image with the Shanghai citizenry for his openness and transparency. However, because he served under Chen Liangyu, the CPC Shanghai Secretary at the time, Han supported many of Chen's policies, notably those favouring Shanghai's regional development, in contrast to a more balanced approach favoured by the national leadership.

Leading Shanghai

Han with the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.

On 25 September 2006, Han became the acting Communist Party Chief of Shanghai after the dismissal of Chen Liangyu over corruption probes during the Shanghai pension scandal. With what were believed to be stern messages sent by Party general secretary Hu Jintao, Han led a municipal task force to crack down on the corruption in Shanghai, and has since then been believed to be a Hu loyalist. His tenure as the interim party chief in Shanghai lasted a mere five months, when on 24 March 2007, Xi Jinping was 'parachuted' into the office of Shanghai Party Secretary from his the same post in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang. Xi later became the top leader of China. Han proved to be a 'political survivor' however, having served under party chiefs Chen Liangyu, Xi Jinping, and Yu Zhengsheng in the Mayor's office.

Han assumed the party chief post in November 2012, shortly after the conclusion of the 18th Party Congress, and also gained a seat on the 18th Politburo of the Communist Party of China. At the time of his elevation, Han was one of only a small handful of top provincial-level leaders who was born in the jurisdiction in which they serve. Han was born, raised, and spent his entire career in Shanghai. Han's situation was also unique in that he was the only Shanghai representative on the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, since his replacement as Shanghai mayor Yang Xiong did not hold Central Committee membership. This meant that compared to Jiang Zemin's days, the representation of Shanghai officials at the Central Committee was vastly decreased.^[5]

References

1. 韩正辞去上海市市长职务 杨雄任上海市代市长. Eastday (in Chinese). 26 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
2. "韩正同志简历". 新华网. 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
3. Xu Yanyan (August 14, 2013). "韩正回忆朱镕基下工厂：第一句话就是批评". 一财网.
4. "Biography of Han Zheng". China Vitae. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
5. "五中全會上海拉后腿？曝韓正單刀赴會". Duowei News. October 29, 2015.

External links

• Xinhuanet announces Han's appointment
• CityMayors profile