Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang Zemin as the President of People’s Republic of China in 2003 in the fourth generation leadership. He is also heading the Central Military Commission of China as its Chairman and is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Born in Jiangsu in 1942, Jintao’s ancestors were from Jixi that is part of the Anhui province. However, his grandfather’s generation migrated to Jiangsu.
Brilliant scholar
Hu was a very gifted student as he excelled not just in studies but also in extra-curricular activities like singing and dancing. While still in school in 1964, he joined the CPC, just before the Cultural Revolution.
Whatever he put his hands onto, he excelled. Despite being part of CPC and successfully dividing his time with extra-curricular activities, he managed to graduate with a lot of ease as a hydraulic engineer.
Career and Member CPC
After becoming an engineer, he began his career at Gansu and worked for a hydro-power station under Mao Zedong’s policy of “Youth Going to the Mountains and Rural Areas”.
In the course of his engineering career, he met his first mentor, Song Ping in 1975. Song happened to be the first secretary of CPC Gansu Committee. Song appreciated Hu’s talent and with Song’s assistance, Hu was promoted to the post of Deputy Director of Gansu’s Ministry of Construction in 1980.
In 1981, Hu along with Deng Xiaoping’s daughter Deng Nan and Hu Yaobang’s son Hu Deping were trained in the Central Party School in Beijing. And within no time, in 1982, Hu was promoted to the position of Communist Youth League Gansu Branch Secretary.
Two years hence, he became the First Secretary of Communist Youth League. In 1985, Hu was transferred to Guizhou as the Communist Party of China Guizhou Committee Secretary following which he became the Provincial Governor.
Leader of substance
Unlike most leaders, Hu spent most of his career in China’s poor hinterlands rather than in the economically prosperous coastal regions. As a result, he is very well-known at the grassroots level.
In 1987, Hu Jintao handled the students protest and at the same time students protests in Beijing resulted in Hu Yaobang’s forced resignation.
He was then appointed the party chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1988. This was a time of political instability and rising demands from Tibet’s people for its independence. He, however, tackled the situation well and was responsible for a quick political crackdown in early 1989. After this incident, Hu was seen as a leader of substance. He also attracted a lot of attention from the Central Government in Beijing.
Just before the opening of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Jintao was elected the youngest member of the politburo standing committee. Senior leaders for an ideal leader of the future fourth generation saw his inclusion in the politburo as a perfect choice. And it also became apparent that Hu would eventually succeed Jiang Zemin as the core of fourth generation CPC leaders.
In 1993, Hu took over the secretariat of CPC that oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Central Committee and the Central Party School. He was also made incharge of the ideological work of the CPC.
Hu became Vice President of China in 1998 and played quite an active role in the foreign affairs of the nation. He voiced very strong concerns during the US bombings of Embassy of China in Belgrade in 1999.
Hu in the hot seat
Since he became the President of China and the General Secretary of CPC in 2003, he has met with a lot of stiff resistance for the successful implementation of macro-regulation measures.
Despite, Hu being at the helm of affairs, Jiang Zemin was reluctant to leave the centre of power. He was re-elected to the post of Chairman of the Central Military Commission in 2003. But it was only in September 2004 that Jiang handed over this hot seat to Hu Jintao lying to rest rumours of rivalry between the two.
After taking over the reigns of the country, Hu faced the first test of his leadership in SARS crisis. His government tackled the crisis with a lot of grit and determination but amidst huge criticism of his government. This crisis did not make any dent to his popularity.
