Shen Yiqin (Chinese: 谌贻琴; pinyin: Shèn Yíqín; born 15 December 1959) is a Chinese politician of Bai ethnic heritage who is currently a state councilor and President of the All-China Women's Federation since 2023. She previously served as the Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou, a province in southwestern China, between November 2020 and December 2022.

Shen Yiqin
谌贻琴
Shen in 2024
State Councilor of the People's Republic of China
Assumed office
12 March 2023
Serving with Wang Xiaohong and Wu Zhenglong
PremierLi Qiang
President of the All-China Women's Federation
Assumed office
25 October 2023
Preceded byShen Yueyue
Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou
In office
20 November 2020 – 9 December 2022
DeputyLi Bingjun (Governor)
General SecretaryXi Jinping
Preceded bySun Zhigang
Succeeded byXu Lin
Governor of Guizhou
In office
6 September 2017 – 24 November 2020
Preceded bySun Zhigang
Succeeded byLi Bingjun
Personal details
Born (1959-12-15) 15 December 1959 (age 65)
Zhijin County, Guizhou
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Alma materGuizhou University

Shen is the third female provincial-level party chief since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 after Wan Shaofen and former Vice Premier Sun Chunlan.

Early life and education

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Shen was born in Zhijin County, Guizhou. Shen belonged to a group of sent-down youth in the latter years of the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution ended, she began studying history at Guizhou University. After graduating, she was sent to work for the provincial party school in Guizhou as a lecturer. She later became a human resources manager there. In 1998, she became vice president of the Guizhou party school. In 1999, she became Vice Chair of the Guizhou Social Sciences Academic Association.

Political career

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Guizhou

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In December 2001, Shen became deputy party chief of Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, then deputy party chief and head commissioner (mayor) of Tongren.[1] In April 2007, Shen became a member of the provincial Party Standing Committee of Guizhou and head of the provincial party propaganda department.[2] In the 17th Party Congress at the end of 2007, Shen was appointed as an alternate member of the CCP Central Committee.

In May 2012, she was named Executive Vice Governor of Guizhou.[3] Later that year, she was reappointed as an alternate member of the Central Committee in the 18th Party congress. In April 2015 she became Deputy Party Secretary of Guizhou and Secretary of Political and Legal Affairs Commission (Zhengfawei) of Guizhou.[4] At the time of her appointment to the deputy party chief position, she became the second sitting female zhuanzhi deputy party secretary in the country, and the only female provincial Zhengfawei chief in the country.[5]

In September 2017, Shen was appointed as the acting Governor of Guizhou. Shen Yiqin is the first female Governor of Guizhou, the first Governor of Bai ethnic heritage, and the first Governor to have been born in province since 1993.[6] Later that year, in the 19th Party Congress, Shen was appointed as a full member of the Central Committee.

In November 2020, Shen was appointed as the CCP Secretary of Guizhou.[7] She was reappointed as a member of the Central Committee in the 20th Party Congress.

State Council

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Shen in 2023

In March 2023, Shen was appointed as a state councilor and in charge of human resource affairs, social affairs, civil affairs, women and children affairs and ethnic affairs.[8]

On 25 October 2023, Shen was appointed as the President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF).[8] Later that month, in an article in the Party's top theoretical journal Qiushi, Shen wrote that women must contribute to the “great cause of national rejuvenation and demonstrate the power of half the sky”, continuing by writing the work of women and the ACWF should always follow "the correct political path and the party’s lead".[8]

References

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  1. ^ "杨玉学任铜仁地委书记 谌贻琴任铜仁行署专员". 金黔在线. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  2. ^ "盘点32位女性省委常委从政之路". 搜狐. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  3. ^ "十一届人大常委会二十八次会议闭幕 谌贻琴当选副省长". 贵网. Archived from the original on 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
  4. ^ "贵州省委副书记谌贻琴兼任政法委书记 秦如培不再担任". 中国经济网. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  5. ^ "谌贻琴履新贵州成中国首位女政法书记". Powerapple. April 24, 2015.
  6. ^ "中国第三位女省长将诞生 还是当地第一位白族省长". 政知圈. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  7. ^ "吉林等4省省委主要负责同志职务调整" (in Chinese). Xinhua. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  8. ^ a b c Zhang, Phoebe (16 November 2023). "China's top women's affairs official vows to promote marriage and family to harness 'the power of half the sky'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of Guizhou
2017–2020
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou
2020–2022
Succeeded by
Civic offices
Preceded by President of the All-China Women's Federation
2023–present
Incumbent