Xian Hui (;

Xiao'erjing Xiao'erjing or Xiao'erjin or Xiaor jin or in its shortened form, Xiaojing, literally meaning "children's script" or "minor script" (cf. "original script" referring to the original Perso-Arabic script; zh, s=本经, t=本經, p=Běnjīng, Xiao ...

: ; born March 1958) is a Chinese politician of Hui ethnic heritage. She is serving as

Chairwoman 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 grou ...

(Governor) of

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...

from July 2016. Along with

Bu Xiaolin Bu Xiaolin (; mn, ; born August 1958) is a Chinese politician of Mongol descent. She had served as chairwoman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Government (equivalent of a provincial governor) since March 2016. She is the daugh ...

of Inner Mongolia and

Shen Yiqin Shen Yiqin (; born 15 December 1959) is a Chinese politician of Bai ethnic heritage. She served as the Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou, a province in southwestern China, between November 2020 and December 2022. Shen is the third female pr ...

of Guizhou, Xian Hui is one of only three women to hold a provincial government leadership position in China, as of 2016.

Career

Xian Hui was born in Dingxi prefecture,

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

in March 1958. During

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 ...

, she became a

Sent-down youth The sent-down, rusticated, or "educated" youth (), also known as the ''zhiqing'', were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the ...

in Dingxi, performing manual labour. Between 1978 and 1981, she joined one of the first batches of students to be admitted to post-secondary education following the Cultural Revolution and took up studies in Chinese literature at the

Minzu University of China Minzu University of China (MUC, ) is a national public university in Haidian District, Beijing, China designated for ethnic minorities in China. MUC was selected as one of national key universities to directly receive funding from Double First ...

. After university, she returned to her home province, and began working in the provincial United Front Work Department, where she would rise steadily through its career ladder and serve until 2005, eventually rising to head the old cadres bureau and the deputy head of the Gansu United Front Department. In 2003, Xian was appointed as deputy head of the party's Organization Department of Gansu. In March 2007, Xian was named vice-governor. She was named to the

provincial party standing committee Members of the standing committees of the Chinese Communist Party provincial-level committees, commonly referred to as ''Shengwei Changwei'' (), make up the top ranks of the provincial-level organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I ...

in April 2012. In May 2015, she became executive vice-governor; she served until July 2016. On 3 July 2016, Xian was named Chairwoman of Ningxia, a region bordering Gansu. Xian's ascension to the chairwoman's office marked the only known instance in the history of the People's Republic during which one woman succeeded another woman in a leading provincial party or government position. She was confirmed as government by the regional People's Congress on 19 September 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xian, Hui Living people 1958 births Chinese Communist Party politicians from Gansu People's Republic of China politicians from Gansu People from Dingxi Political office-holders in Ningxia Hui people Lanzhou University alumni Minzu University of China alumni Alternate members of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Alternate members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 21st-century Chinese women politicians 21st-century Chinese politicians Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party