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China puts scientist in charge of Communist Party’s human resources department
- The new head of personnel appointments and promotions is a nuclear scientist and stern environmental enforcer
- Li Ganjie most recently served as Shandong party boss and was among six technocrats promoted to the Politburo in October
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Stern environmental enforcer-turned Shandong Communist Party boss Li Ganjie has been appointed to run the powerful Central Organisation Department, overseeing the appointments and promotions of senior apparatchiks.
The appointment was confirmed on Wednesday – after a surprising six-month delay following his promotion to the Politburo in October – when Li received his Vietnamese party counterpart Truong Thi Mai in Beijing.
In its report on the meeting, state news agency Xinhua referred to Li by his new title which gives him oversight of all officials at vice-ministerial level and above.
After the meeting, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the parties’ organisation departments.
Li takes over from Chen Xi, who retained the position after leaving the Politburo during the same reshuffle at the watershed 20th party congress, which delivered an unprecedented third term to President Xi Jinping.
Li left his job as party chief of Shandong province, eastern China, in January and has been waiting since then for a formal portfolio. Chen continued to enforce top personnel changes, as well as the wide-ranging restructure of party organs and government offices unveiled in March.
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