Ismail Amat ( ug, ئىسمائىل ئەھمەد, translit=Isma'il Ehmet; zh , s = 司马义·艾买提 , p = Sīmǎyì Àimǎití ; September 1935 – 16 October 2018) was a Chinese politician of Uyghur ethnicity who served as Chairman (Governor) of

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

State Councillor A state councillor () is a high-ranking position within the State Council, the executive organ of the Chinese government (comparable to a cabinet). It ranks immediately below the Vice-Premiers and above the ministers of various departments. ...

, Vice-Chairman of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

and Vice-Chairman of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(CPPCC). He was among the highest-ranking Uyghur politicians sitting for decades in the

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or del ...

of People's Republic of China between 1979–2008.

Early life and career in Xinjiang

Amat was born 1935 in

Qira County Qira County ( Uyghur: ), alternatively Chira or Cele (from Mandarin Chinese), is a county in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Almost all the residents of the county are Uyghurs and live around oases situated between the ...

Hotan Prefecture Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...

Xinjiang Province Xinjiang Province is a historical administrative area of Northwest China, between 1884 and 1955. Periods during which various boundaries of Xinjiang Province have been defined include: * Xinjiang Province (Qing) (1884–1912). * Xinjiang Provi ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

. His parents were poor Uyghur peasants. From 1952 to 1954, he took part in the land reform movement in his hometown and joined the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

(CPC) in 1953. He rose quickly in the government of Qira and became the

county magistrate County magistrate ( or ) sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the '' xian'', or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with t ...

in 1954 at the age of 19. In 1960, he was selected to study in Beijing at the Central Party School of the CPC for two years. After returning to Xinjiang, he became deputy publicity head of Hotan Prefecture in 1963. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, Amat was elevated to the regional government of Xinjiang in 1969 and elected to the 10th Central Committee of the CPC in 1972. From 1971 to 1979 he served as Xinjiang's party secretary (then subordinate to the first secretary) and director of its Organization Department. In 1979, he became Chairman (Governor) of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region at the age of 44. During his six-year tenure, he oversaw Xinjiang's transition to a

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

reform and opening The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of ...

era.

Career in the national government

In 1986, Amat was elevated to the national government and became Minister of the

State Ethnic Affairs Commission The National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China under the formal leadership of the United Front Work Department that is responsible for relations between ...

, a key position in charge of affairs concerning ethnic minorities, especially the Tibetans and Muslim groups such as the Uyghurs. As a prominent Muslim CPC leader, he served as a mouthpiece of China's ethnic policies and condemned separatist movements. He served in the position until 1998, and concurrently as vice-chairman of the

(CPPCC) from 1988 to 1993. From 1993 to 2003 he also served as a vice-premier-level

. During his tenure there were multiple anti-Chinese protests in Xinjiang which were suppressed by the government. Amat supported the official policy of harshly treating ethnic separatists while promoting economic growth and stability in minority regions. From 2003 to 2008 Amat served as vice-chairman of the

10th National People's Congress The 10th National People's Congress () was in session from 2003 to 2008. It held five plenary sessions in this period. There were 2,984 deputies to this Congress. It succeeded the 9th National People's Congress. The 1st Session The Congre ...

. As one of the highest-ranking Uyghur or Muslim politicians in the history of the People's Republic of China, he frequently visited Central Asian nations and met with visiting dignitaries from Islamic countries. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in 2001, the United States captured a number of Chinese Uyghurs in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

and held them in the

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Gua ...

. China considered the Uyghur detainees terrorists and demanded that the US hand them over to Chinese custody. When the demand was refused, Amat condemned the US in 2006. Amat served as a member of seven consecutive CPC Central Committees, from the 10th to the 16th, spanning 45 years.

Death

Ismail Amat died on 16 October 2018 in Beijing, at the age of 83. He was buried at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

, Vice President

Wang Qishan Wang Qishan (; ; born 19 July 1948) is a Chinese politician, and the current Vice President of the People's Republic of China. Wang is one of the leading figures behind China's foreign affairs, along with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Ke ...

, Party former General Secretary

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, and ...

, other Party Politburo Standing Committee members

Li Zhanshu Li Zhanshu (; born August 30, 1950) is a Chinese politician, and the current outgoing chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Chinese Speaker. He was the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committe ...

, Wang Yang,

Wang Huning Wang Huning (; born 6 October 1955) is a Chinese politician and one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He has been a leading political theorist and ideologist in the country since the 1990s. He has been a member of the CCP' ...

Zhao Leji Zhao Leji (; born 8 March 1957) is a senior Chinese leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who is the third-ranking member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, the party's top decision-making body. In his earlier political career, he ...

Han Zheng Han Zheng (; born 22 April 1954) is a Chinese politician serving as the Senior Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, State Council. He has also been leader of the Ce ...

and many other top leaders attended his funeral.

References