Chang Wanquan (; born January 1949) is the former Minister of Defense and State Councilor of the
People's Republic of China and a general in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. He has been a member of the
and helped to manage China's space program.
Life and career
Born in
Nanyang,
Henan Province, in 1949, Chang joined the PLA in March 1968 and the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in November of the same year. From January 2002 to December 2004, he was the chief of staff and a CCP committee member of the
Lanzhou Military Region
The Lanzhou Military Region was one of seven military regions in the People's Republic of China. It directed all People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police forces in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Ngari Prefecture in n ...
. From December 2004 to September 2007, he was the commander of the
Shenyang Military Region. He was also director of the
PLA General Armaments Department. In October 2007 he was elected as a member of the Central Military Commission.
He attained the rank of
senior colonel in 1992,
major general in July 1997,
lieutenant general in 2003, and full general in October 2007. He has been a member of the
16th,
17th
17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number.
Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers.
In mathematics
17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
and 18th
Central Committees
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...
.
In October 2012, he was appointed
Minister of National Defense, succeeding General
Liang Guanglie.
At the first plenary session of the
12th National People's Congress
The 12th National People's Congress was elected in national congressional conferences from October 2012 to February 2013 and was in session from 2013 to 2018. It succeeded the 11th National People's Congress. It held five plenary sessions in ...
, he was also appointed as
State Councilor.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Wanquan
1949 births
Living people
People's Liberation Army generals from Henan
People from Nanyang, Henan
Ministers of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
State councillors of China