1. Liu Yunshan was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the top decision-making body of the CCP, between 2012 and 2017; he was broadly tasked with the work of the party's secretariat, overseeing propaganda and ideological indoctrination, as well as party organization, in addition to serving as President of the Central Party School.
Liu Yunshan had a short stint working as the Party Secretary of the city of Chifeng, in Inner Mongolia.
Between 2002 and 2012, Liu Yunshan served as the head of the Central Propaganda Department.
Liu Yunshan, generally perceived by observers to be a conservative and orthodox Communist, oversaw the gradual tightening of internet controls in China during his tenure, as well as an overall reduction in free discourse and civil society.
Liu Yunshan was born to an ordinary family of farmers in Tumed Qi in Inner Mongolia; he traces his ancestry to Xinzhou, Shanxi province.
Liu Yunshan spent over twenty years of his career in Inner Mongolia.
Liu Yunshan initially worked as a teacher, then was "sent down" to do manual labour in the countryside as part of the Cultural Revolution.
Liu Yunshan attended college part-time at the Teachers College in Jining District, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia.
Liu Yunshan then worked in the local government's public relation department of Tumed Qi.
Liu Yunshan started working as a reporter for Xinhua News Agency in 1975, writing stories about farmers' nomadic lifestyle in Inner Mongolia and occasionally sleeping in yurts to get close to the people that were part of his story.
Liu Yunshan then worked for the provincial Communist Youth League organization.
In 1985, the 38-year old Liu Yunshan earned an alternate seat on the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1986, Liu Yunshan became the Inner Mongolia State Government's director of public relation in 1986, and by 1987, the Secretary-General of the Inner Mongolia Party committee, a position in charge of coordination the execution of political policies.
Between 1989 and 1992, Liu Yunshan attended the Central Party School to take courses in public administration.
In 2002, at the 16th Party Congress, Liu Yunshan became the head of the Central Propaganda Department.
Liu Yunshan was a member of the 17th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.
Liu Yunshan, considered a censorship hard-liner, was seen as a staunchly conservative member of the Standing Committee who religiously upheld party orthodoxy.
China analyst Cheng Li said that Liu Yunshan was elevated due to the patronage of former leader Jiang Zemin.
That Liu Yunshan effectively succeeded in the portfolios held by two individuals prior to the Congress was arguably an indication of the breadth of his power.
However, unlike his predecessors Xi Jinping and Zeng Qinghong, Liu Yunshan did not take on the office of Vice President as was customary for the two previous first-ranked Secretaries of the Secretariat, which went to Li Yuanchao.
In 2013, Liu Yunshan was named one of three deputy leaders of the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms.
In May 2015, Liu Yunshan penned an article on Study Times in which he criticized that political culture in the Communist Party must not become too "lax and flexible" and that party members must resolutely follow party rules.
Liu Yunshan led the Chinese delegation on a visit to North Korea in 2015, and met with Workers' Party first secretary Kim Jong-un, becoming the first Politburo Standing Committee heavyweight to meet with the young North Korean leader.
Liu Yunshan delivered a personal letter from Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping to Kim Jong-un.
Liu Yunshan accompanied the North Korean leader in watching the military parade marking the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea.
Liu Yunshan met with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in March 2016, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in November 2016.
Liu Yunshan has been subject to criticism by the writer Tie Liu, whose work has been published by the Independent Chinese PEN Center.
Liu Yunshan is the arch-nemesis of the path to reform in China, and the biggest opponent of the administration of Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
Liu Yunshan is married to Li Sufang, who worked at the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Liu Yunshan Lefei was, as of 2014, the vice-chairman of CITIC Securities.