He Guoqiang (; born October 1, 1943) is a retired senior leader 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 ...

(CCP). Between 2007 and 2012, He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China's most powerful decision-making body, and the

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest supervisory organ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCDI is elected and supervised by the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP National Congress. ...

, the party's anti-corruption agency. Earlier in his career, He served as the head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party, the governor of Fujian, and the Party Secretary of Chongqing.

Career

He Guoqiang was born in Xiangxiang County (now Xiangxiang),

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

on October 1. 1943. He joined the

in January 1966 and joined the work force in September 1966. He graduated from the Inorganic Chemistry Department at the Beijing Institute of Chemical Engineering where he had majored in inorganics. With his university education, he held the title of ''Senior Engineer''. He was first assigned to work as a technician at the synthesis division of the Lunan Chemical Fertilizer Plant in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. During his eleven years there he eventually made his way up to party branch secretary (''de facto'' head of the plant). Eventually He became an official at the chemical industry department of the Shandong provincial government. After that, he began taking on increasingly senior administrative roles, ascending through the ranks to become Party Committee Secretary in

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

, the capital of

, in 1987, and a member of the Shandong

provincial Party Standing Committee Members of the standing committees of the Chinese Communist Party provincial-level committees, commonly referred to as ''Shengwei Changwei'' (), make up the top ranks of the provincial-level organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I ...

. In 1991, he became deputy minister of Chemical Industry. In October 1996, He was transferred to Fujian to become deputy governor, then acting governor. He assumed the post of the Governor of Fujian between 1997 and 1999. In June 1999, he was named the party secretary of

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, only the second person to take on the job after the city gained direct-controlled municipality status. He remained in Chongqing until 2002. He moved to national prominence that year, becoming the head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party, overseeing party personnel. He was named to the Politburo Standing Committee at the 17th Party Congress in November 2007, heading up the

, in charge of stamping out corruption with party officials, replacing Wu Guanzheng. He was ordered by General Secretary Hu Jintao to go into earthquake areas in the aftermath of the

2008 Sichuan earthquake An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9–8.3 ), the earthquake's epicenter was located boxing the compass, west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial ...

. He Guoqiang was said to be a 'moderating' force on the PSC, with no apparent loyalties to any particular factions or patrons. He Guoqiang retired from politics after the 18th Party Congress in November 2012.

Family

He Guoqiang's eldest son, (; born June 7, 1971), is a former soldier who eventually went into business. He Jintao founded the

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

firm Nepoch Capital. He Jintao worked with

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

and China Resources on various investment projects. Several media sources have linked He Jintao with the corruption case involving Song Lin, former chief executive of China Resources. He Guoqiang's second son, He Jinlei (), was a vice president at the investment arm of China Development Bank, CDB Capital, a state-owned company which invested heavily in Alibaba's initial public offering in 2014. The wives and children of both of He Guoqiang's sons are said to be living in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

of the United States. In May 2014, U.S.-based Chinese-language website ''Duowei'' reported that He's successor as central discipline secretary Wang Qishan scheduled a meeting with him to discuss ongoing investigation into the business activities of his sons, and He Jintao specifically. The same article mentioned that the likelihood of He Guoqiang's personal involvement in corruption was low, and that He urged his sons to cooperate with the investigation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:He, Guoqiang Living people 1943 births Politicians from Xiangtan Governors of Fujian Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan Beijing University of Chemical Technology alumni People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Political office-holders in Shandong Political office-holders in Chongqing Members of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Secretaries of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Members of the 16th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Heads of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party Deputy Party Secretaries of Fujian