Ding Guangen (; September 1929 – July 22, 2012) was a Chinese politician who served in senior leadership roles in 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 ...

during the 1990s. He was a member of the

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

between 1992 and 2002, a member of the Central Secretariat, and one of the top officials in charge of propaganda and ideology during the term of Party General Secretary and President

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as p ...

. Prior to his elevation to the Politburo, Ding served successively as

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...

of China between 1985 and 1988, the chief of the

Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency under the State Council of Mainland China. It is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan), as stipul ...

between 1988 and 1990, and the head of the United Front Work Department of the party between 1990 and 1992.

Biography

Ding was born in September 1929 in

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city a ...

, Jiangsu province. He attended high school in Shanghai. He graduated from

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a Public university, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...

with a degree in engineering. He joined the Communist Party in July 1956. Ding was elevated to the Politburo of the

(CCP) in 1987, and was expected to take on more prominent posts. However, he was forced to resign due to a series of dire railway accidents in 1988. He was demoted to the vice director of the National Planning Commission. Later, Ding became the director of

of the State Council. He thus became the first politburo member, i.e., Party and nation's leader, who served as a vice Minister in the government after

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. Ding re-emerged in 1989 and took charge of the United Front Work Department of CCP. Since 1992, Ding had served as the head of Central Propaganda Department of CCP, responsible for ideological affairs for 10 years. He retired in 2002 due to his age. Ding was a member of 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party, an alternate member of 13th Politburo, and a full member of 14th and 15th Politburo. Since the 4th plenary session of 13th Central Committee, he was a secretary of Central Secretariat of CCP. Ding died July 22, 2012, in Beijing at the age of 83, he was eulogized by the party as a "long-tested fighter of the Communist cause".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ding, Guangen 1929 births 2012 deaths Politicians from Wuxi People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu Chinese people in rail transport Heads of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 15th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 14th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery