Zeng Qinghong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zeng Qinghong
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| 曾庆红 | |||||||||
Zeng in 2000
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| First-ranked Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||
| In office 15 November 2002 – 22 October 2007 |
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| General Secretary | Hu Jintao | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Hu Jintao | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Xi Jinping | ||||||||
| Vice President of China | |||||||||
| In office 15 March 2003 – 15 March 2008 |
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| President | Hu Jintao | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Hu Jintao | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Xi Jinping | ||||||||
| President of the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||
| In office December 2002 – December 2007 |
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| Deputy | Yu Yunyao Su Rong |
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| Preceded by | Hu Jintao | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Xi Jinping | ||||||||
| Head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||
| In office March 1999 – November 2002 |
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| General Secretary | Jiang Zemin | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Zhang Quanjing | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | He Guoqiang | ||||||||
| Head of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||
| In office March 1993 – March 1999 |
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| General Secretary | Jiang Zemin | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Wen Jiabao | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wang Gang | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | 30 July 1939 Ji'an, Jiangxi, Republic of China |
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| Political party | Chinese Communist Party (1960–2008) | ||||||||
| Spouse | Wang Fengqing | ||||||||
| Children | Zeng Wei | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Beijing Institute of Technology | ||||||||
| Occupation | Control engineer | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 曾庆红 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 曾慶紅 | ||||||||
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Zeng Qinghong (Chinese: 曾庆红; pinyin: Zēng Qìnghóng; Wade–Giles: Tseng1 Ch'ing4-hung2, born July 30, 1939) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a very important leader in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). From 2002 to 2007, he was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, which is China's top leadership group. He also served as the Vice President of China from 2003 to 2008. During the 1990s, Zeng was a close helper to Jiang Zemin, who was the leader of the Party at that time. Zeng played a big part in making Jiang Zemin's power stronger.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Zeng Qinghong was born in July 1939 in Ji'an, Jiangxi province. His family was Hakka. His father, Zeng Shan, was a communist revolutionary and later became the Minister of the Interior. His mother, Deng Liujin, was a famous woman who took part in the Long March. Zeng was the oldest of five children.
He went to Beijing 101 Middle School. Later, he studied at the Beijing Institute of Technology. He became an engineer who specialized in automatic control systems. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in April 1960. Because his father was a revolutionary, Zeng was sometimes called a member of the "Crown Prince Party". This term refers to children of important older revolutionaries.
Early Career and Cultural Revolution
Zeng started his career as a technician. He worked in the military defense industry in Beijing. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to do manual labor. He worked on People's Liberation Army bases in Hunan and Guangdong.
When China began its reform era, Zeng joined the State Development and Reform Commission in 1979. After that, he held several management jobs in the state oil industry. He also worked in foreign relations for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
Rise to Power
In 1984, Zeng started working for the government in Shanghai. There, he became a key supporter of Jiang Zemin, who was the Party leader in Shanghai. When Jiang Zemin became the national leader of the Chinese Communist Party in 1989, he brought Zeng Qinghong with him to Beijing as his adviser.
Supporting Jiang Zemin
From 1989 to 1993, Zeng was a deputy chief in the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party. In this role, he helped Jiang Zemin, who was new to national politics. Zeng taught Jiang about how the Party, military, and government worked in Beijing. He helped Jiang build his network of contacts. Zeng became Jiang's most trusted helper.
Throughout the 1990s, Zeng gained control over Party groups that chose people for important political jobs. From 1999 to 2002, he was the head of the Party's Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party. He used this position to make Jiang Zemin's power stronger. He promoted people who were close to Jiang, often called the "Shanghai clique", to important national and regional positions. Zeng also helped spread Jiang's political ideas, known as the "Three Represents", throughout the Party.
Joining the Top Leadership
At the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2002, Zeng Qinghong reached the highest levels of power. He became a member of the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. He also joined the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). The PSC is the Party's main decision-making group. He also became the First Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party. This role meant he was in charge of Party administration and policy coordination.
Role in the Politburo Standing Committee
Even though he was formally ranked fifth in the PSC, Zeng was seen as a very powerful person. Many believed he had almost as much power as the top leader, Hu Jintao. At first, some thought Zeng and Hu Jintao might be rivals. However, Zeng showed he was willing to work with the older leaders.
In June 2003, Zeng issued an order that changed a long-standing tradition. He said that the song 'The Internationale' should not be played or sung at Party meetings at the provincial, city, or county levels. This was seen as a step away from older communist traditions.
Even after Jiang Zemin stepped down from the PSC, he still had a lot of influence. This was largely because of Zeng. Six of the nine new members of the Standing Committee were linked to Jiang's "Shanghai Clique" and were considered his allies.
Working with Hu Jintao
Some people thought Jiang Zemin might have wanted Zeng Qinghong to be his successor instead of Hu Jintao. But Hu Jintao became the leader, partly because he was chosen by the former leader Deng Xiaoping. Zeng became Vice President in March 2003.
During the SARS outbreak, Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao took strong action. Zeng and other leaders who were close to Jiang were less visible. Zeng was also expected to become Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. However, when Jiang stepped down in 2004, Xu Caihou became Vice Chairman instead of Zeng.
Over time, Zeng was seen as someone who helped solve problems and manage difficult situations for Hu Jintao. For example, after the death of Zhao Ziyang, a former Party leader, Zeng acted as a go-between for Zhao's family and the Party leadership. Zeng also worked with Hu to manage the effects of political changes in other countries like Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine.
Retirement from Politics
At the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007, Zeng Qinghong retired from his main leadership roles. He left the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the Politburo, and the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. His retirement was due to his age. This meant he no longer oversaw the Party's organization. His term as Vice President ended in March 2008.
Before he retired, Zeng used his influence to help Xi Jinping and Zhou Yongkang join the Politburo Standing Committee. Xi Jinping then took over Zeng's roles as Vice President and executive secretary of the Secretariat. Xi Jinping later became the top leader of China. Since his retirement, Zeng has only made a few public appearances at special events.
Awards and Honors
See also
- Politics of the People's Republic of China
- History of the People's Republic of China (2002–present)
