Han Zheng

Han Zheng 韩正
13th Mayor of Shanghai
Incumbent
Assumed office March 2003
Preceded by	Chen Liangyu
CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary (Acting)
In office September 2006 – March 2007
Preceded by	Chen Liangyu
Succeeded by	Xi Jinping
Personal details
Born	April 1954 (age 57) Cixi, Zhejiang
Political party	Communist Party of China
Alma mater	Fudan University East China Normal University

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Han.

Han Zheng (Chinese: 韩正; born April 1954) is the current mayor of Shanghai, the 13th to serve in the position since the founding of the People's Republic of China. He is also the most senior member of the Shanghai clique who is not a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, and also member of the emerging fifth generation.

Life and career

He was born in Cixi, Zhejiang province and joined the CPC in 1979. He holds a Master's Degree from East China Normal University and is a senior economist. He joined the CPC Central Committee in 2002. In 2003 he was named the Mayor of Shanghai at age 48, the youngest Mayor the city has seen in fifty years. A vocal advocate of the Shanghai real estate boom, Han has a largely positive image with the Shanghai populace for his openness and transparency. However, because he served under Chen Liangyu, the CPC Shanghai Secretary at the time, Han supported many of Chen's policies, notably those favouring Shanghai's regional development, held in contrast to the position of the central CPC leadership. Therefore it is still difficult to gauge whether or not Han was involved in the alleged Shanghai pension scandal.

Han with the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.

On 25 September 2006, Han became the acting Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee after the dismissal of Chen Liangyu over corruption probes. With what were believed to be stern messages sent by President Hu Jintao, Han led a municipal task force to crack down on the corruption in Shanghai, and has since then been believed to be a Hu loyalist. His tenure as the number one figure in Shanghai lasted a mere five months, when on 24 March 2007, he was replaced by Xi Jinping, the Party Chief for the nearby province of Zhejiang, as the next Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee. Han still keeps the position of the Mayor of Shanghai. He is longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award.

External links

• Xinhuanet announces Han's appointment
• CityMayors profile

Political offices
Preceded by Chen Liangyu	Mayor of Shanghai 2003 – present	Incumbent
	CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary, acting 2006–2007	Succeeded by Xi Jinping