Zhou Yongkang, Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetZhou Yongkang
former Politburo Standing Committee member of the Communist Party of China
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
About Zhou Yongkang
- Zhou Yongkang (born December 1942) is a former senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
- He was a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China's highest decision-making body, and the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (Zhengfawei) between 2007 and 2012, making him one of the most powerful leaders in China.
- In that position, Zhou oversaw China's security apparatus and law enforcement institutions, with power stretching into courts, prosecution agencies, police forces, paramilitary forces, and intelligence organs.
- He was convicted of corruption-related charges in 2014 and expelled from the CPC. Zhou rose through the ranks of the Communist Party through his involvement in the oil and gas industry, starting as a technician on the Daqing oil field during the Cultural Revolution.
- He was at the helm of the China National Petroleum Corporation between 1996 and 1998, then became Minister of Land and Natural Resources until 1999, and subsequently Party Secretary of Sichuan, then China's second most populous province.
- Zhou was a State Councilor of the State Council from 2003 to 2008 and also a member of the Party Secretariat of the Central Committee.
- He served as the Minister of Public Security from 2002–07, before being promoted to the PSC.
- Zhou retired at the 18th Party Congress in 2012. In late 2013, Zhou was placed under investigation for alleged abuse of power and corruption, a decision state media announced in July 2014.
- Zhou was the first Politburo Standing Committee member – and the most senior-ranked official – since the founding of the People's Republic of China to be tried and convicted of corruption-related charges.
- Following his investigation, Zhou was expelled from the Communist Party of China.
- On June 11, 2015, Zhou was convicted of bribery, abuse of power and the intentional disclosure of state secrets by the Intermediate Court in Tianjin.
- Zhou and his family members were said to have taken 129 million yuan (over $20 million) in bribes.
- He was sentenced to life in prison.
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