{{Short description|Chinese politician (born 1955)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Bayanqolu | native_name = {{mongolUnicode|ᠪᠠᠶᠠᠨᠴᠢᠯᠠᠭᠤ}}<br />{{lang|zh-hans|{{nobold|巴音朝鲁}}}} | image = | caption = | office = [[Party Secretary of Jilin]] | term_start = 31 August 2014 | term_end = 20 November 2020 | predecessor = [[Wang Rulin]] | successor = [[Jing Junhai]] | deputy = [[Jing Junhai]] (Governor) | office1 = [[Governor of Jilin]] | term_start1 = 31 January 2013 | term_end1 = 5 September 2014 | predecessor1 = [[Wang Rulin]] | successor1 = [[Jiang Chaoliang]] | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1955|10|5}} | birth_place = [[Otog Front Banner]], [[Inner Mongolia]], China | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Chinese Communist Party]] | spouse = | children = 2<ref name=sina/> | alma_mater = [[Inner Mongolia Normal University]]<br/>[[University of Jinan]] | module = {{Infobox Chinese |child=yes |t=巴音朝魯 |s=巴音朝鲁 |p=Bāyīncháolǔ |mon= Баянчулуун |mong= ᠪᠠᠶᠠᠨᠴᠢᠯᠠᠭᠤ }} }}
'''Bayanqolu''' ({{zh|c={{linktext|巴|音|朝|鲁}}|p=Bāyīncháolǔ}}; born 5 October 1955) is a Chinese politician of Mongol ethnicity. He served as the [[Party Secretary of Jilin]] from 2014 to 2020 and the [[Governor of Jilin]] from 2012 to 2014; Bayanqolu was, at the time of his appointment, the only ethnic-minority official serving as a provincial-level Party Secretary.
Prior to his posts in Jilin province, Bayanqolu was best known for his seven-year term as the Party Secretary of the coastal city of [[Ningbo]], Zhejiang. Bayanqolu was born in [[Otog Front Banner]], [[Inner Mongolia]].<ref name="chinavitae">{{cite web |url=http://www.chinavitae.com/biography/Bayanqolu_/summary |title=Bayanqolu |publisher=China Vitae |access-date=2014-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731051620/http://chinavitae.com/biography/Bayanqolu_/summary |archive-date=2016-07-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He attended [[Inner Mongolia Normal University]] and [[University of Jinan]], where he obtained a master's degree in economics.<ref name="xinhua">{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2011-02/15/c_121081799.htm |script-title=zh:巴音朝鲁简历 |trans-title=Biography of Bayanqolu |language=zh |publisher=[[Xinhua News Agency]] |access-date=2014-09-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712202504/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2011-02/15/c_121081799.htm |archive-date=2014-07-12 }}</ref> He rose through the ranks of the [[Communist Youth League]] in the 1990s before being transferred to work in Zhejiang as vice governor, then as Ningbo party chief.<ref name="people">{{cite web |url=http://leaders.people.com.cn/GB/58318/58433/5836607.html |script-title=zh:巴音朝鲁简历 |trans-title=Biography of Bayanqolu |language=zh |publisher=[[People's Daily]] |access-date=2014-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023810/http://leaders.people.com.cn/GB/58318/58433/5836607.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Early career==
===Inner Mongolia=== Bayanqolu was born in [[Otog Front Banner]], [[Inner Mongolia]]. His name is a combination of the Mongolian word ''bayan'' ({{lang|mn|баян}}, roughly, "wealth"), and the word ''qolu'' ({{lang|mn|чулуу}}, "stone"); however he is normally called simply "Bayin" in Mandarin by his friends and colleagues.<ref name=sina>{{cite news|title=巴音朝鲁:跨越"一步之遥"的新挑战|url=http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2014-10-09/140930963591.shtml|work=Sina News|date=October 19, 2014}}</ref> He began working in 1976 and joined the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) in the same year. His involvement with the CCP began when he was 20 years old. From 1980 to 1982 he attended [[Inner Mongolia Normal University]], studying Political Education. In 1985 he was appointed mayor of [[Ejin Horo Banner]], and was promoted to [[Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary|CCP Committee Secretary]] of Ejin Horo in 1988.<ref name="chinavitae"/><ref name="xinhua"/><ref name="people"/>
===Communist Youth League=== Bayanqolu became the Deputy Secretary of the [[Communist Youth League of China|Communist Youth League]] of [[Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region]] in 1991, and Secretary in 1992, ascending to a department level (''tingjuji'') rank at a mere 36 years of age, the youngest official of that rank in Inner Mongolia at the time.<ref name=sina/> In 1993 he was transferred to work for the League's central organization in Beijing, taking the position of Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (ranked fifth out of six secretaries), and Executive Secretary in 1998.<ref name="xinhua"/><ref name="people"/> At the Youth League, Bayanqolu worked under the leadership of [[Li Keqiang]] and [[Zhou Qiang]]. From 1994 to 1997, Bayanqolu enrolled in the postgraduate program at the Economics Management Department of [[University of Jinan]] in [[Shandong]] province.<ref name="chinavitae"/>
==Rising through the ranks==
===Zhejiang Province=== In April 2001, Bayanqolu was transferred to coastal [[Zhejiang]] province to become its Vice Governor. In December 2003, he was appointed Party Secretary of [[Ningbo]], a city with sub-provincial administrative status in Zhejiang, putting him at the rank of a provincial-ministerial official. He remained as top leader of Ningbo until 2010.<ref name="xinhua"/> During his stint in Ningbo Bayanqolu also held a seat on the [[Chinese Communist Party Provincial Standing Committee|provincial Party Standing Committee]], and worked directly with then Zhejiang Party Secretary [[Xi Jinping]].<ref name="people"/> While serving in Ningbo, Bayanqolu's family reportedly continued to live in Beijing. Bayanqolu was said to have lived by himself in a residence converted from a former elementary school, with the mayor of Ningbo and other local politicians being his "flatmates".<ref name=sina/>
During his tenure in Ningbo, the overall operating volume of the [[Port of Ningbo]] grew to be higher than that of the neighbouring sister [[Port of Shanghai]]; the average economic growth rates at the time was 16.78% annually, with Ningbo ascending to become one of the most economically competitive cities in mainland China. In spite of his "ethnic" background, Bayanqolu, known locally as "Bayin Secretary", frequently bantered with local journalists, sometimes using words in the [[Ningbo dialect|local dialect]].<ref name=sina/>
===Jilin Province=== In August 2010, Bayanqolu was transferred to [[Jilin]] province in Northeastern China, where he served as [[Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary|CCP Deputy Committee Secretary]] of the province and Chairman of the Jilin [[Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference|Political Consultative Conference]]. At the time of his Consultative Conference appointment, some commentators suggested that his political career was coming to a close, since the position was often seen as a "retirement home" for esteemed older politicians; however, in some cases (see [[He Lifeng]], [[Wang Anshun]], [[Chen Qiufa]]), the position had served as a "staging ground" for higher office.<ref name=takung>{{cite news|title=巴音朝鲁的三个关键词：蒙古族、团干部、浙江牌|url=http://news.takungpao.com/mainland/focus/2014-08/2705601.html|work=Takungpo|date=August 31, 2014|archive-date=August 11, 2020|access-date=August 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811073244/http://news.takungpao.com/mainland/focus/2014-08/2705601.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In December 2012, Bayanqolu was appointed acting Governor of Jilin, succeeding [[Wang Rulin]], who was promoted to party chief of the province. He was officially confirmed as Governor by the Jilin Provincial Congress in January 2013.<ref name="xinhua"/><ref name="people"/> Bayanqolu's ascension to governor was notable and was the subject of much fanfare, as he was extremely unusual in being from the [[tuanpai|Youth League]], Zhejiang, and ethnic minority background in a provincial leadership position.<ref name=takung/>
In August 2014, Bayanqolu rose one step further. When Jilin party chief [[Wang Rulin]] was parachuted to Shanxi to oversee 'reconstruction' following a massive province-wide anti-corruption crackdown, Bayanqolu was given to nod to replace Wang as Jilin party chief.<ref name="xinhua"/> At the time Bayanqolu assumed office as party chief of Jilin, he became the only ethnic-minority party chief of a Chinese province.<ref name="people"/> He also carried with him the unique resume of having served as party chief, governor, People's Congress chair, and Consultative Conference Chair all within a period of less than five years. Additionally, given his Zhejiang experience, Bayanqolu was generally considered to be an associate of Xi Jinping (see [[New Zhijiang Army]]), and was expected to take on even higher office.<ref name=inner>{{cite news|last1=Li|first1=Cheng|title=Xi Jinping's Inner Circle|url=http://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/clm45cl-xi_jinpings_inner_circlepart_3-_political_proteges_from_the_provinces.pdf}}</ref>
In December 2020, Banyanqolu was appointed as the Deputy Chairperson of the [[National People's Congress Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee]].{{cn|date=August 2024}}
Bayanqolu was an alternate of the [[17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]]. He is a full member of the [[18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|18th]] and [[19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|19th]] Central Committees.<ref name="xinhua"/><ref name="people"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef | before = [[Wang Rulin]]}} {{s-ttl | title = [[Party Secretary of Jilin]] | years = 2014–2020}} {{s-aft | after = [[Jing Junhai]]}} {{s-bef | before = [[Wang Rulin]]}} {{s-ttl | title = [[Politics of Jilin|Deputy Party Secretary]] of [[Jilin]] | years = 2010–2012}} {{s-aft | after = [[Zhu Yanfeng]]}} {{Succession box| before = [[Huang Xingguo]] | title = [[Party Committee Secretary|Party Secretary]] of [[Ningbo]] | years = 2003–2010| after = [[Wang Huizhong]]}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef | before = [[Wang Rulin]]}} {{s-ttl | title = [[Governor of Jilin]] | years = 2012–2014}} {{s-aft | after = [[Jiang Chaoliang]]}} {{s-end}}
{{Jilin leaders}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayanqolu}} [[Category:1955 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Chinese people of Mongolian descent]] [[Category:People from Ordos City]] [[Category:Jilin University alumni]] [[Category:Inner Mongolia Normal University alumni]] [[Category:Governors of Jilin]] [[Category:Chinese Communist Party politicians from Inner Mongolia]] [[Category:Political office-holders in Zhejiang]] [[Category:Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Category:Alternates of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Category:Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Category:Members of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] [[Category:Members of the Standing Committee of the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] [[Category:Delegates to the 13th National People's Congress]] [[Category:Delegates to the 12th National People's Congress]] [[Category:Chairpersons of the CPPCC Jilin Provincial Committee]] [[Category:Directors of the Standing Committee of the Jilin Provincial People's Congress]]