Song Defu (; February 1946 – September 13, 2007) was a Chinese politician, best known for his terms as the First Secretary of the

Communist Youth League The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by th ...

, Minister of Personnel, and the Communist Party Secretary of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its c ...

province. Widely considered a political star of his time, Song did not ascend further due to poor health towards the end of his career; he died in 2007 at the age of 61.

Biography

Song Defu was born into the family of a Communist Party official in Yanshan,

Hebei Province Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

. He joined the

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

in 1965. Song joined the army at 19, and retired from service in 1993. Thanks to the recommendation of the army, he entered Communist Youth League headquarters as a secretary of its secretariat in 1983, and worked closely with

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

, who led the Youth League at the time. In 1985, he succeeded Hu as the First Secretary of Communist Youth League. Meanwhile, he also served as deputy director of organization department of General Political Department in the army. From 1985 to 1993, he remained a major leader of Communist Youth League. His colleagues at Youth League during that time included some prominent figures in future Chinese politics, such as Liu Yandong, Zhang Baoshun,

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...

Li Yuanchao Li Yuanchao (born 20 November 1950) is a retired Chinese politician. He was the Vice President of the People's Republic of China from 2013 to 2018 and the Honorary President of the Red Cross Society of China. He was a member of the Secretari ...

, Liu Qibao, and

Yuan Chunqing Yuan Chunqing (; born March 1952) is a retired Chinese politician. He was deputy chief of the Office for Rural Work and the Communist Party Chief of Shanxi province. Prior to that, he was Governor of neighbouring Shaanxi province. Biography Yu ...

. In 1993, Song entered the state council and became the Minister of Personnel. At age of 47, he was then the youngest minister in the government. From 2000 to 2004, Song served as the party chief of Fujian province. In 2002, the new generation of leaders emerged in China, and Song was seen as having a promising future. Song was regarded as a leader with the most abundant political experience, including not only military background, but also positions ranging from Communist Youth League, major ministry of the state, and stints in provincial government. However, due to health problems, Song ultimately could not realize his ambition on a larger political stage. In December 2004, Song was relieved of his duties as party chief of Fujian, succeeded by Lu Zhangong. Although the party never released the reason for his departure, it was widely believed that poor health was the reason. Hong Kong media reported that Song may have had

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. In 2005 he was named the deputy head of a coordination committee for "identifying talent".宋德福传患癌症
中国窗原载《香港商报》2003年7月19日 Song died in 2007 at the age of 61, still considered within a politician's "prime" in the context of Communist Party officials. At his funeral, following his will, he was wearing military uniform and red tie. His body was covered by the flag of Chinese Communist Party, and the flag of Communist Youth League was placed by his head.Song Defu's page at xinhuanet.com
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Defu 1946 births 2007 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Hebei Tuanpai Politicians from Cangzhou Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hebei Political office-holders in Fujian First Secretaries of the Communist Youth League of China