23 Facts About Wang Zhaoguo

Wang Zhaoguo is a Chinese retired politician who came to prominence during the era of Deng Xiaoping.

An automobile factory technician by trade, Wang had a long and varied political career, known for having acquired a ministerial-level position at the age of 41.

Wang Zhaoguo was born in Fengrun County, Hebei on 14 July 1941 to a poor family.

Wang Zhaoguo went to school later than his peers due to his family situation.

Wang Zhaoguo joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1965.

Wang Zhaoguo graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology in 1966, specializing in mechanical engineering.

Wang Zhaoguo then began working as the Communist Youth League leader at a factory owned by the Second Automobile Works.

Wang Zhaoguo entered the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party at a mere 41 years of age, and was selected to become the First Secretary of the Communist Youth League from 1982 to 1984.

Wang Zhaoguo was therefore seen as a close associate of Hu, given that both men had come from Communist Youth League backgrounds.

Wang Zhaoguo had advocated for policies favouring the party "clean up its own act" and "self-discipline" as part of wider political reform programs spearheaded by Hu, and said that these changes must begin with the party's upper echelons.

Wang Zhaoguo was succeeded by Wen Jiabao, the deputy chief of the General Office at the time.

Wang Zhaoguo was named the governor of Fujian in 1987 after Hu Yaobang's resignation, in what was widely considered a demotion and 'banishment' from the political center stage in Beijing.

Possibly as a result of his term in Fujian, which sat just across the strait from Taiwan, Wang Zhaoguo was named the director of the Taiwan Affairs Office in 1990.

Wang Zhaoguo was elected Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in March 1993, rejoining Party and State Leadership, and reelected in 1998.

Wang Zhaoguo oversaw the selection of the 11th Panchen Lama.

Wang Zhaoguo served in the post for some ten years.

Wang Zhaoguo gained a seat on the 25-member Politburo, but his career had by this point lagged far behind that of Hu and Wen Jiabao, his former deputies.

Wang Zhaoguo was a member of the 16th and 17th Politburos of the Chinese Communist Party.

Wang Zhaoguo was a member of the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party, known for serving under four party general secretaries - Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao.

Wang Zhaoguo retired from Politburo after the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, an event which saw Xi Jinping became General Secretary, and Wang Zhaoguo officially retired from politics in March 2013 after he stepped down as vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee.

Wang Zhaoguo visited his former employer Dongfeng Motors from May 17 to 18,2013.

Wang Zhaoguo appeared with his wife on April 22,2014, at the Zhou Enlai memorial house in Huai'an, Jiangsu.

Wang Zhaoguo sent a commemorative floral basket along with Hu Jintao to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Hu Yaobang in April 2014.