Jiang Zemin, born on August 17, 1926,
is a native of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. He is chairman of the Central
Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and chairman of the
Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China.
He participated in the students' movement
led by underground CPC organizations around 1943 and joined the CPC in April
1946. He graduated from the Electrical Machinery Department of Shanghai Jiaotong
University in 1947.
After the liberation of Shanghai, he served
successively as deputy engineer, chief of the works section and concurrently
head of the power workshop, Party branch secretary and first deputy director of
Shanghai Yimin No. 1 Foodstuff Factory, first deputy director of Shanghai Soap
Factory, chief of the electrical machinery section of Shanghai No. 2 Design
Division of the First Machine-Building Industry Ministry.
He worked as a trainee at the Stalin
Automobile Works in Moscow in 1955.
Upon returning to China in 1956, he worked
as deputy chief of the dynamic mechanics division, deputy chief engineer for
dynamic mechanics of the First Automobile Plant in Changchun and director of the
power factory in the plant.
After 1962, he served successively as deputy
director of the Shanghai Electrical Equipment Research Institute under the First
Machine-Building Industry Ministry, director and acting Party committee
secretary of the Wuhan Heat-Power Machinery Institute under the Ministry, deputy
director-general and director-general of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the First
Ministry of Machine-Building Industry.
After 1980, he served as vice chairman and
concurrently secretary-general of the State Administration Commission on Import
and Export Affairs and the State Administration Commission on Foreign Investment
and a member of the Leading Party Member Groups of the two commissions.
After 1982, he served as first vice minister
and deputy secretary of the Leading Party Member Group of the Ministry of
Electronics Industry and minister and secretary of the Leading Party Members'
Group of the Ministry.
After 1985, he served as mayor of Shanghai
and deputy secretary and secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. He
was elected member of the CPC Central Committee at the Twelfth CPC National
Congress in September 1982.
In November 1987, he was elected member of
the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at the First Plenary Session
of the Thirteenth CPC Central Committee. In June 1989, he was elected member of
the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and general secretary of the CPC
Central Committee at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Thirteenth CPC Central
Committee.
In November 1989, he was elected chairman of
the CPC Central Military Commission at the Fifth Plenary Session of the
Thirteenth CPC Central Committee.
In March 1990, he was elected chairman of
the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China at the Third
Session of the Seventh National People's Congress. In October 1992, he was
elected member of the Political Bureau, its Standing Committee and general
secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CPC Central Military
Commission at the First Plenary Session of the Fourteenth CPC Central Committee.
In March 1993, he was elected president of
the People's Republic of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission
of the People's Republic of China at the First Session of the Eighth National
People's Congress.
In September 1997, he was elected member of
the Political Bureau and its Standing Committee and general secretary of the CPC
Central Committee and chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission at the
First Plenary Session of the Fifteenth CPC Central Committee. In March 1998, he
was reelected president of the People's Republic of China and chairman of the
Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China at the First
Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.
In November 2002, he was reelected chairman
of the CPC Central Military Commission at the First Plenary Session of the
Sixteenth CPC Central Committee.
On March 15, 2003, he was reelected chairman
of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China.