Chen Minzhang (; December 1931 – 16 March 1999) was a Chinese politician who served as

minister of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 1987 to 1998. He also served as president of the from 1989 to 1994 and president of the

Red Cross Society of China The Red Cross Society of China () is the national Red Cross Society in the People's Republic of China. Origins and history before 1949 The Red Cross Society of China was founded as the Shanghai International Red Cross Committee on March 10, 19 ...

from 1990 to 1994. He was an alternate member of the

13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1987 to 1992. It held seven plenary sessions. It was preceded by the 12th Central Committee and succeeded by the 14th Central Committee. It elected the 13th Politburo of ...

and a member of the

14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1992 to 1997. It held seven plenary sessions. It was preceded by the 13th Central Committee. It was elected by the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party ...

. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the

9th National People's Congress The 9th National People's Congress () was in session from 1998 to 2003. It held five plenary sessions in this period. It followed the final session of the 8th National People's Congress. There were 2,979 deputies to this Congress. Election result ...

Biography

Chen was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, in December 1931, while his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

. He attended

Xuhui High School Xuhui High School () is a secondary school in Xujiahui, Shanghai. Founded in 1850 by Jesuits, Jesuit missionaries, its original name was Collège Saint Ignace ( en, St. Ignatius High School). After the Chinese Civil War, was moved and rebuilt i ...

. He became a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

near 1949. In 1949, he enrolled at the Medical School of

Aurora University Aurora University (AU) is a private university in Aurora, Illinois. In addition to its main campus and the Orchard Center in Aurora, AU offers programs online, at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, and at the Woodsto ...

and entered

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine The Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM, ), formerly Shanghai Second Medical University, is a public medical school in Shanghai, China. Clinical medicine of SJTUSM is consistently ranked first among medical schools nationa ...

after the adjustment of universities and colleges in 1952. He joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP) in 1954. He became an assistant after graduation. At the same time, he worked as a physician at St. Marie Hospital (now Ruijin Hospital). In 1955, he was transferred to Beijing Xiehe Hospital (now Peking Union Medical College Hospital) and participated in the

Socialist Education Movement __NOTOC__ The Socialist Education Movement (, abbreviated 社教运动 or 社教運動), also known as the Four Cleanups Movement () was a movement launched by Mao Zedong in 1963 in the People's Republic of China. Mao sought to remove reactionary e ...

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city A prefectur ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

in 1964. He became vice minister of health in 1984, rising to

in April 1987. He also served as president of the from 1989 to 1994 and president of the

from 1990 to 1994. On 16 March 1999, he died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, at the age of 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Minzhang 1931 births 1999 deaths Aurora University (Shanghai) alumni Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni People's Republic of China politicians from Shanghai Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shanghai Alternate members of the 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress