Zhou Yongkang
A new member of the Standing Committee of the 17th CCP Central Committee Politburo, Zhou Yongkang was minister of Public Security from 2003 to 2007.
A native of Wuxi, Jiangsu, Zhou was born in 1942 and graduated from the Beijing Petroleum Institute, where he majored in geographical survey and exploration, in 1966.
Zhou worked in the Liaohe Petroleum Exploration Bureau from 1970-85. He was appointed director general and CCP deputy secretary of the Liaohe Petroleum Exploration Bureau in 1983. Zhou served as mayor of Panjin, Liaoning, from 1983-85. From 1985-88, he served as vice minister and CCP member of the Ministry of Petroleum Industry. From 1988-96, Zhou worked as vice general manager and CCP deputy secretary of the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), among other positions. He was promoted and served as general manager and CCP secretary of CNPC from 1996-98.
Zhou then served as minister and CCP secretary of the Ministry of Land and Resources for one year. In 1999, he was appointed as Sichuan CCP secretary. In 2002, he was named a member of the politburo and secretariat of the CCP Central Committee. Zhou became minister of Public Security and a state councilor in 2003. He was a member of the 15th CCP Central Committee and member of the 16th CCP Central Committee Politburo and Secretariat.