Guo Shengkun (; born 16 October 1954) is a retired Chinese politician and business executive. Between 2017 and 2022, he was the secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

, a member of the CCP Politburo, and a secretary of the CCP Secretariat. Previously Guo served as the minister of Public Security, a state councilor, the Party Secretary of Guangxi and the general manager of Aluminum Corporation of China, a major

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

Early life and education

A native of Xingguo County,

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

province, Guo Shengkun was born on 16 October 1954. Guo entered the workforce in 1973 during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

as a sent-down youth at an agricultural commune in his native hometown, and joined the CCP in December 1974. From 1977 to 1979 he studied mining at the Jiangxi Institute of Metallurgy (now Jiangxi University of Science and Technology).

Career

Metal industry

Starting in 1979 Guo worked in the non-ferrous metal industry in Jiangxi, rising through the ranks of the Machinery Department of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry to become its section chief, party secretary, and superintendent. He later became the head of the Huamei’ao Mine of China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Corporation (CNMC) from 1985 to 1992, the head of the Guixi Silver Mine from 1992 to 1993, the head of the Nanchang Branch of the CNMC in

Nanchang Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...

from 1993 to 1997, the deputy general manager of the CNMC from 1997 to 1998, and the deputy director of the Ministry of Nonferrous Metals from 1999 to 2000. In 2000 he led the creation of the

Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chinalco) and became the General Manager of the company. He also oversaw the dual listings of Chinalco's subsidiary, Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), on the New York and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

stock exchanges.

Politics

Guangxi

After more than two decades in the metal industry, in 2004 Guo was transferred to the government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, becoming the deputy party secretary and deputy chairman of the provincial-level region which is rich non-ferrous metal reserves. In November 2007 he succeeded Liu Qibao, who was transferred to

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

province, as the Party Secretary of Guangxi. He held the position until December 2012, when he was succeeded by Peng Qinghua.

Minister of Public Security

In December 2012 Guo was transferred to the national government to succeed Meng Jianzhu as the Minister of Public Security, China's top policeman. Some political analysts questioned his suitability for the post as he had minimal legal experience. On 16 March 2013 Guo was appointed one of the five State Councilors in China. Guo Shengkun was an alternate of the 16th and the 17th Central Committees, and a member of the 18th Central Committee.

Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission

In October 2017, after the 19th Party Congress, Guo was appointed as the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLAC) and as a member of the CCP Politburo. In May 2018, he headed the National Leading Group for the Special Campaign to Crack Down on Organized Crime and Eliminate Evil. In February 2021, he headed the National Political and Legal Team Education and Rectification Leading Group. He stepped down from the Politburo and as the CPLAC Secretary in October 2022.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Guo, Shengkun Living people 1954 births Members of the 19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Political office-holders in Guangxi Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangxi People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangxi Ministers of public security of the People's Republic of China Politicians from Ganzhou People from Xingguo County Businesspeople from Jiangxi State councillors of China Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Alternates of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Alternates of the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 13th National People's Congress Secretaries of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission