Wen Jiabao

Wen Jiabao (Chinese: 温家宝; pinyin: Wēn Jiābǎo; born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician and geologist who served as the Premier of China from 2003 to 2013 and the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012.

Born in Tianjin, Wen joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1965. After graduating from university, he began his career at Gansu Geological Bureau. He rose through the ranks and in 1983 became the Vice Minister of Geology and Mineral Resources. In 1985, he was promoted to the Politburo by CCP General Secretary Hu Yaobang. Wen worked as the Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party between 1986 and 1993, and accompanied Zhao Ziyang to Tiananmen Square during the 1989 protests as his secretary. In 1998, Wen was promoted to the post of Vice Premier under his mentor Zhu Rongji. As Vice Premier, he oversaw agricultural, financial and environmental policies.

In November 2002, Wen jointed the Politburo Standing Committee, becoming its third-ranking member behind CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao and National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo. Appointed as Premier in March 2003, he sought to shift China’s economic priorities away from coastal, export-driven growth and toward reducing the burdens on farmers and migrant workers through measures such as abolishing agricultural taxes and increasing infrastructure spending. Regarded as a leading figure in the Party’s reformist wing, he expressed support for political reform. However, a 2012 New York Times exposé of his family wealth cast a shadow over his legacy. He left office in 2013 and was succeeded by Li Keqiang.