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Liu Yandong
刘延东
Liu in 2016
Vice Premier of China
In office March 16, 2013 – March 19, 2018Serving with Zhang Gaoli, Wang Yang, Ma Kai
Premier	Li Keqiang
State Councilor of China
In office March 17, 2008 – March 16, 2013Serving with Liang Guanglie, Ma Kai, Meng Jianzhu, Dai Bingguo
Premier	Wen Jiabao
Head of the United Front Work Department
In office December 5, 2002 – December 2, 2007
General Secretary	Hu Jintao
Preceded by	Wang Zhaoguo
Succeeded by	Du Qinglin
Personal details
Born	November 1945 (age 79) Nantong County, Jiangsu
Nationality	Chinese
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Alma mater	Tsinghua University
Signature

Liu Yandong (Chinese: 刘延东) is a retired Chinese politician. She recently served as the Vice Premier of China, and was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2017, a State Councilor between 2007 and 2012, and headed the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party between 2002 and 2007.

A graduate of Tsinghua University, Liu's career has long been associated with her fellow alumnus and Communist Youth League colleague Hu Jintao. As such Chinese-language media has sometimes labelled Liu as part of the so-called "Tuanpai", or "Youth League clique". After the retirement of Wu Yi, Liu has been highest-ranked female political figure in China, and one of only three women with a seat on the Politburo, the others being retired Vice Premier Wu Yi and current second Vice Premier Sun Chunlan.

Biography

Early career

Liu Yandong was born in November 1945 in Nantong County, Jiangsu, in what was then Republic of China. Her father Liu Ruilong was one of the founders of the 14th Army of the Reds, an early Communist revolutionary militia force. As her father was of a revolutionary background, she has been classified by some analysts as a princeling. Liu entered the prestigious Tsinghua University in 1964, weathered the Cultural Revolution, and graduated in 1970 with a degree in chemistry. While in college, Liu was a part-time political instructor.

Shortly after graduation, Liu began work at a chemical production plant in Tangshan, an industrial city in northeastern China, in what was likely an assignment by the state. In 1980, she was transferred to work for the party organization in Beijing, in 1981 she was made deputy Party Secretary of Chaoyang District. In 1982, Liu began working for the Communist Youth League, where she worked with contemporaries Wang Zhaoguo, Hu Jintao, and Song Defu. She worked at the Youth League for nine years. During this time she served as Chairwoman of the All-China Youth Federation.

In March 1991, she began working at the United Front Work Department as its deputy secretary-general. The mandate of the United Front is essentially to keep non-Communist political and civic organizations in line with the overarching ideologies of the Communist Party. During her term at the department, she gained on-the-job master's and doctorate degrees at Renmin University and Jilin University.

Politburo

Between 2002 and 2007, she served as the head of the United Front Work Department. In March 2002 she was also elected Vice Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Having long been an ally of Party General Secretary Hu Jintao and ascended from the ranks of the Communist Youth League, she entered the 17th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007. Widely speculated to become Vice-Premier in an upcoming leadership reshuffle, by 2007, Liu was the sole woman with a seat on the Politburo and the highest ranked female politician in China. At the 2008 National People's Congress she was elected State Councilor, and was not elected as a Vice-Premier. She was also deputy chair of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

At the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, she was elected to the 18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. She became the first woman since Deng Yingchao to serve consecutive terms on the Politburo. A few months later, at the first plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress in 2013, she was also appointed Vice Premier in Li Keqiang Government, second in rank, overseeing the broad portfolios of health, education, and sports. Since 2013, Liu has been the leader of the Leading Group for Health Care Reform. Liu retired from politics in 2018.

Personal life

Liu is married. On April 13, 2009, Stony Brook University conferred upon Madame Liu Yandong an Honorary Doctor of Laws.

See also

• Tsinghua clique

References

1. Tania Branigan (October 16, 2012). "China's Liu Yandong carries the hopes – and fears – of modern feminism". the Guardian.
2. "Liu Yandong -- Member of Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee". November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on November 20, 2012.

External links

• (in Chinese) Profile of Liu Yandong, Xinhua News Agency.
• Biography Xinhua (November 2012)

v t e 12th State Council of China
Li Keqiang Cabinet I (2013–2018)
Premier	Li Keqiang (Party branch secretary)	Premier Li Keqiang 1st Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli
Vice Premiers	Zhang Gaoli Liu Yandong♀ Wang Yang Ma Kai
State Councilors	Yang Jing (dismissed Feb 2018) Chang Wanquan Yang Jiechi Guo Shengkun Wang Yong
Secretary-General	Yang Jing (dismissed Feb 2018)
Ministers	01 Foreign Affairs Wang Yi 02 National Defense Chang Wanquan 03 Development & Reform Commission Xu Shaoshi → He Lifeng 04 Education Yuan Guiren → Chen Baosheng 05 Science & Technology Wan Gang (Zhi Gong Party Chairman; CPPCC Vice-Chairman) 06 Industry & Information Technology Miao Wei 07 Ethnic Affairs Commission Wang Zhengwei (CPPCC Vice-Chairman) → Bagatur 08 Public Security Guo Shengkun → Zhao Kezhi 09 State Security Geng Huichang → Chen Wenqing 10 Supervision Huang Shuxian → Yang Xiaodu 11 Civil Affairs Li Liguo → Huang Shuxian 12 Justice Wu Aiying♀ → Zhang Jun 13 Finance Lou Jiwei → Xiao Jie 14 Human Resources & Social Security Yin Weimin 15 Land & Resources Jiang Daming 16 Environment Protection Zhou Shengxian → Chen Jining → Li Ganjie 17 Housing & Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin → Chen Zhenggao → Wang Menghui 18 Transport Yang Chuantang → Li Xiaopeng 19 Water Resources Chen Lei 20 Agriculture Han Changfu 21 Commerce Gao Hucheng → Zhong Shan 22 Culture Cai Wu → Luo Shugang 23 Health & Family Planning Commission Li Bin♀
Central Bank Governor	Zhou Xiaochuan (CPPCC Vice-Chairman)
Auditor-General	Liu Jiayi → Hu Zejun♀
: Member of the Politburo; : Member of the Politburo Standing Committee; ♀: female

• Vice premiers of the People's Republic of China
• Living people
• 1945 births
• Politicians from Nantong
• People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu
• Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu
• Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
• Members of the 18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party
• Tsinghua University alumni
• Chemists from Jiangsu
• Women state councillors of China
• Members of the 17th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party
• 21st-century Chinese women politicians
• 21st-century Chinese politicians