Zhou Yongkang

Zhou Yongkang
周永康
Zhou in 2006
Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission
In office October 22, 2007 – November 20, 2012
Deputy	Wang Lequan Meng Jianzhu
General secretary	Hu Jintao
Preceded by	Luo Gan
Succeeded by	Meng Jianzhu
State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China
In office January 19, 2003 – January 25, 2008
Premier	Wen Jiabao
Minister of Public Security
In office December 7, 2002 – October 28, 2007
Premier	Wen Jiabao
Preceded by	Jia Chunwang
Succeeded by	Meng Jianzhu
Communist Party Secretary of Sichuan
In office January 6, 2000 – December 5, 2002
Deputy	Zhang Zhongwei (governor)
Preceded by	Xie Shijie
Succeeded by	Zhang Xuezhong
Minister of Land and Resources
In office March 1998 – December 1999
Premier	Zhu Rongji
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Tian Fengshan
Personal details
Born	Zhou Yuangen (周元根) (1942-12-03) December 3, 1942 (age 81) Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (1964–2014, expelled)
Spouses	Wang Shuhua (1971–1997) Jia Xiaoye (2001–)
Alma mater	Suzhou High School Beijing Petroleum Institute
Occupation	Oil exploration

Zhou Yongkang (born December 3, 1942) is a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 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 CCP in the same year.

Zhou rose through the ranks of the CCP 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 Secretariat of the Central Committee. He served as the Minister of Public Security from 2002 to 2007, 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 CCP. 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.