Peking University, Mar. 26, 2013: A PKU student leader in the late 1980s has now become China’s youngest provincial head.
The 46-year-old Lu Hao '89, Master of Economics '94, was appointed acting governor of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province at the second meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th Heilongjiang Provincial People's Congress on March 25.
Lu Hao, acting governor of Heilongjiang Province (People’s Daily Online)
Lu served president of the PKU Student Union from 1987 to 1988, the first student government chief elected through campus-wide direct elections since the “Cultural Revolution” (1966-76), Xinhua reported.
Lu, an undergraduate at PKU from 1985 to 1989 with a major in economics, continued his study as an in-service postgraduate from 1991 to 1994 and obtained a master’s degree in economics.
In many stages of his career he has often been the youngest person ever to hold a particular post, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. He was, for example, the youngest head of a state-owned factory and then the youngest vice mayor of Beijing since 1949.
In 2008, at the age of 41, he was appointed first secretary of the Secretariat of Communist Youth League (CYL) Central Committee, which made him one of the youngest heads of the CYL - a training ground for Party and government officials with nearly 80 million members, according to SCMP. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and former President Hu Jintao held the post decades ago.
Born in 1967 in Shanghai, Lu moved to Xi’an for middle school education. His excellent academic performance earned himself an opportunity to attend PKU, China’s top institution of higher learning.
During his three-year part-time study at PKU, he was under the supervision of Professor Li Yining, China’s market reform guru and also mentor of Li Keqiang, now Chinese premier and Li Yuanchao, vice president.
Lu was one of Professor Li’s favorite students, according to the SCMP report. Professor Li anointed Lu as the editor of his biography, because Li said: "Lu is strong both theoretically and practically."
In 1994, the 27-year-old Lu took over Beijing Woolen Cloth Factory, a state-owned company under a heavy debt. Under his management the factory was reborn. However, the factory's performance slumped after Lu left in 1999 and closed in 2006, SCMP reported.
Combining his management experience with the economics theory, Lu wrote several academic articles in which proposals on the management of state-owned company were adopted by China’s State Economic and Trade Commission and the Central Bank.
Lu Hao (The Beijing News)
During his tenure as vice mayor of Beijing, Lu was placed as the mayor who “would like to communicate with the media,” the Beijing News reported. On May 18, 2006, a mine accident occurred in Fangshan District. Vice Mayor Lu immediately went to the scene. He promised the media that “the whole rescue operation will be exposed to the media,” which facilitated on-the-spot reporting and guaranteed the people's right to oversee.
Lu Hao at inaugural speech as acting governor of Heilongjiang (dbw.cn)
“It’s our Party, our people that provided me with the opportunity to realize my aspirations," Lu Hao said during his inaugural speech as Heilongjiang’s acting governor. "People's interests would always be my top priority and Party discipline my working principle.”
Written by: Zhu Wenjia
Edited by: Jacques
