Shohrat Zakir ( ug, شۆھرەت زاكىر; born August 1953) is an ethnic Uyghur politician of China and the former

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

and the

Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary In modern Chinese politics, a Deputy Party Committee Secretary (; also translated as Deputy Party Secretary, deputy party chief, vice party chief) serves as the lieutenant to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, and thus the depu ...

of Xinjiang from 2014 to 2021. Since October 2017, he is the member of the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...

. He was born in

Yining YiningThe official spelling according to (), also known as Ghulja ( ug, غۇلجا) or Qulja ( kk, قۇلجا) and formerly Ningyuan (), is a county-level city in Northwestern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China and the seat of the Ili Kazakh A ...

(Ghulja). He went to

Tianjin University Tianjin University (TJU, ), formerly Peiyang University (), is a national public research university in Tianjin, China. The university was established in 1895 by Guangxu Emperor's royal charter to be the first university of China. It is now fu ...

. He was the former Mayor of

Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...

. He studied computer science in

Hubei Province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Career

Zakir was born into a family with

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

history. His grandfather Kaur Zakir was a progressive thinker during the warlord era and was executed by state agents of the warlord

Sheng Shicai Sheng Shicai (; 3 December 189513 July 1970) was a Chinese warlord who ruled Xinjiang from 1933 to 1944. Sheng's rise to power started with a coup d'état in 1933 when he was appointed the ''duban'' or Military Governor of Xinjiang. His rule o ...

along with Mao Zemin and

Chen Tanqiu Chen Tanqiu (; 4 January 1896 – 27 September 1943) was a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chen Tanqiu graduated from Wuhan Higher Normal School (present day Wuhan University) after which he played a leadership role in th ...

. His father Abdullah Zakrof was one of the earliest ethnic Uyghurs to join the Xinjiang party organization shortly after the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949. Prior to the Cultural Revolution, Zakir's father was a member of the regional

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

and Vice-Chairman of Xinjiang. Between 1970 and 1972, Zakir was involved in the "

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China between mid 1950s and 1978. As a result of what he perceived to ...

" in rural Xinjiang. He then worked as a teacher in an elementary school in

. He was transferred to Diwobao school in 1974. In March 1978, he left his homeland for Hubei to attend the Jianghan Petroleum College (now

Yangtze University Yangtze University (Yangtze U, ) is a provincial public university with campuses in Jingzhou and Wuhan, Hubei, China. The university was established by the incorporation of four public colleges: Jianghan Petroleum Institute (), Hubei Agricul ...

) located in

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

to study

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

. He then returned to Xinjiang to serve as a researcher at an earth sciences institute. In June 1984, he joined government, working for the regional economic committee. Between 1982 and 1986, Zakir obtained an English degree at the Urumqi Vocational College. During this time he also joined the Chinese Communist Party. He then worked in a series of roles supporting economic growth and trade in the regional government. In March 2001, he was named mayor of Urumqi. Beginning in December 2005 he worked for the

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (), also known as XPCC or Bingtuan ("The Corps"), is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organization in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In its history, the XPCC has built ...

. In 2007, he also earned an

Executive MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

. At the

2008 National People's Congress The 1st Session of the 11th National People's Congress held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 18, 2008 in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in conjunction with the 2008 CPPCC. The 10-day plenum elected China's new governm ...

Zakir was selected to become a member of the National Ethnic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress. In June 2011, he became Vice-Chair of the

State Ethnic Affairs Commission The National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China under the formal leadership of the United Front Work Department that is responsible for relations between ...

. In January 2014, he became Chairman of the Xinjiang People's Congress and in December 2014, he was named Chairman of Xinjiang, replacing

Nur Bekri Nur may refer to: In Islam * An-Nur, one of the names of God in Islam, meaning "The Light". * Nūr (Islam), a concept, literally meaning "light" * An-Nur (The Light), the 24th chapter of the Qur'an * ''Risale-i Nur Collection'', a collection of ...

. In March 2019, addressing the issue of the widespread internment of ethnic minorities in

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...

, Zakir said that the camps were "training centers" rather than "

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

" as otherwise claimed and that the freedom of "trainees" was not restricted and that the camps were boarding schools where trainees could go home or ask for leave. On 23 October 2021, he was appointed vice chairperson of the

National People's Congress Ethnic Affairs Committee The National People's Congress Ethnic Affairs Committee () is one of ten special committees of the National People's Congress, the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. The special committee was created during the first session ...

U.S. Sanctions

On 10 December 2021, the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

added Zakir to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Individuals on the list have their assets blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakir, Shohrat Chinese Communist Party politicians from Xinjiang Living people 1953 births Mayors of Ürümqi Tianjin University alumni Uyghur politicians Political office-holders in Xinjiang People's Republic of China politicians from Xinjiang People from Ili Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress Delegates to the 11th National People's Congress Delegates to the 12th National People's Congress Delegates to the 13th National People's Congress Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List