Han Zheng

Han Zheng (Chinese: 韩正; pinyin: Hán Zhèng; born April 1954) is a Chinese politician, the Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai, and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China. He served as Mayor of Shanghai between 2003 and 2012 and briefly acted as Party Secretary between 2006 and 2007 when his predecessor Chen Liangyu was removed from power. In November 2012 he was promoted to become the Party Secretary of Shanghai, the top political post in the city. Han was once considered a member of the Shanghai clique.

Early career

He was born in Shanghai, but traces his ancestry to Cixi, in neighbouring Zhejiang province. He began work as a labourer at a warehouse in the latter years of the Cultural Revolution. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1979. He then worked at a chemical equipment company in an administrative role. Beginning in 1986, Han began working as a senior administrator at the municipal chemical engineering college, then worked as party chief at the Shanghai Rubber Shoe Factory. By 1988, Han oversaw the party organization at the Shanghai Greater China Rubber Shoe Factory, and was praised by then Shanghai mayor Zhu Rongji.