Hu Jintao Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here is a look at the life of Hu Jintao, former president of the People’s Republic of China.

Personal

Birth date: December 21, 1942

Birth place: Jixi, Anhui Province, China

Birth name: Hu Jintao

Father: Hu Jingzhi, a merchant

Mother: Li Wenrui

Marriage: Liu Yongqing

Children: Hu Haifeng; Hu Haiqing

Education: Tsinghua University, 1964

Other Facts

Is the first Chinese leader to start his political career after the 1949 Communist revolution.

Timeline

1964 – Joins the Communist Party of China (CPC).

1964-1965 – Postgraduate and political instructor at Tsinghua University in the Water Conservancy Engineering Department.

1965-1968 – Works in research and development (R&D) and as a political instructor at Tsinghua University in the Water Conservancy Engineering Department.

1968-1974 – Works for the Ministry of Water Conservancy, post-Cultural Revolution.

1974-1982 – Works for the Gansu Provincial Construction Committee in several positions, eventually becoming vice chairman.

1982-1985 – Works for the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, eventually becoming its leader.

1985-1988 – Rises to Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee.

1987-1992 – Member of the 13th CPC Central Committee.

1988-1992 – Secretary of the Party Committee of Tibet Autonomous Region.

1989 – Uses the Chinese military to stamp out Tibetan protests against China’s rule.

1992-1997 – Member of the 14th CPC Central Committee, the Politburo and the Standing Committee.

1993-2002 – President CPC, Central Committee’s Central Party School.

1997-2002 – Member of the 15th CPC Central Committee, the Politburo, the Standing Committee and later the Secretariat. Also becomes vice chairman of the 15th CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission.

1998-2003 – Vice president of the People’s Republic of China.

1999-2002 – Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

2002 – Becomes a member of the 16th CPC Central Committee, the Politburo and the Standing Committee. Later becomes General Secretary of the 16th CPC Central Committee.

2002-2004 – Vice chairman 16th CPC Central Committee and Central Military Commission.

2002-2005 – Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

November 2002 – Succeeds Jiang Zemin as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

March 15, 2003 – Elected president of the People’s Republic of China.

September 19, 2004 – Chairman of the 16th CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission.

March 13, 2005 – Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

April 2006 – Makes first state visit to the United States; meets with US President George W. Bush to discuss trade and North Korea.

January 30-February 10, 2007- Makes an eight-nation tour through Africa. During the trip, Hu negotiates more than $1 billion of trade deals, loans and debt cancellations with countries such as Liberia, Sudan and South Africa.

May 7, 2008 – Makes the first visit to Japan by a Chinese leader in 10 years.

November 18-19, 2008 – Hu makes a two-day visit to Cuba. He meets with former President Fidel Castro and promises that China will provide Cuba with $78 million in donations and credit.

April 1, 2009 – Meets US President Barack Obama for the first time during economic summit in London.

January 18-21, 2011 – Travels to the United States for a four-day visit. The visit includes a state dinner at the White House.

November 15, 2012 – Steps down as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

March 14, 2013 – Formally steps down as president of the People’s Republic of China.

October 22, 2022 – At a key Communist Party Congress, Hu is repeatedly prevented from looking at official documents in front of him. Following a series of exchanges between senior party leaders, he is then escorted out. As Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to begin a norm-breaking third term, Chinese state media on Twitter claim that Hu’s removal is due to ill-health.

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