Zhou Yongkang

Who is Zhou Yongkang?

Zhou Yongkang is a retired senior leader of the Communist Party of China. He was a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body, and the head of the Central Political and Legislative Committee between 2007 and 2012. In that position, Zhou oversaw China's security apparatus and law enforcement institutions, with power stretching into courts, prosecution agencies, police forces, paramilitary forces, and intelligence organs.

Zhou rose through the ranks of the Communist Party thru his involvement in the oil and gas industry, starting as a technician on the Daqing oil field during the Cultural Revolution. He was at the helm of the China National Petroleum Corporation between 1996 and 1998, then became Minister of Land and Natural Resources until 1999, and subsequently party secretary of Sichuan, then China's most populous province. Zhou was a State Councillor from 2003 to 2008 and also a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. He served as the Minister of Public Security from 2002 to 2007, before being promoted to the PSC.

Zhou retired at the 18th Party Congress in 2012. Zhou has been reportedly under investigation for corruption since late 2013, though no related official statements have been released about the matter.