Li Peng --NPC Chairman (Source: People's Daily)

Li Peng, 68, was re-elected into the top policy-decisionmaking body -- the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CentralCommittee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the First Plenary Sessionof the 15th CPC Central Committee here today. It is also the third time in succession for Li to be elected into the innermost circle of CPC's third generation of collective leadership since 1987.

China has made tremendous achievements in reform and opening up to the outside world over the past decade since the 13th CPC National Congress, to which Li Peng as Premier of the People's Republicof China and the central government led by him have made remarkable contributions.

Li, the son of a revolutionary martyr, acquired his higher education in the former Soviet Union. Known as an electricity specialist, Li Peng is one of those high-ranking officials with a technical background in New China.

Li was born in October, 1928 in southwest China's Sichuan Province. He joined the CPC in November 1945 and started his careerin March 1941.

Li studied at the Yan'an Institute of Natural Sciences, Yan'an Middle School and Zhangjiakou Vocational School of Industry between 1941 and 1946.

Then he served as a technician in the Shanxi-Chahar-HebeiPower Company and an assistant manager and a party branch secretary at the Harbin Greese Company.

In 1948, one year before the founding of New China, he was sent to study at the Moscow Power Institute, majoring in hydroelectric engineering. During the period he was chairman of the Chinese Students Association in the Soviet Union.

After returning home in 1955, Li served as a deputy director and chief engineer of the Fengman Hydroelectric Power Plant in northeast China. Later he served as deputy chief engineer of the Northeast China Power Administration and director of its Electricity Dispatch Department, director of the Fuxin Power Plant and deputy secretary of the plant's Partycommittee.

Between 1966 and 1976, he held the posts as an acting secretary of the Party Committee of the Beijing Power Supply Bureau, chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Bureau, deputy secretaryof the Party Committee of Beijing Power Administration, chairman of theRevolutionary Committee and director of the Administration and secretary of the Party group of the Administration.

Between 1979 and 1983, he served as vice-minister and minister of Power Industry and secretary of the Party Group of theMinistry of Power Industry, and vice-minister and deputy secretary of theParty group of the Ministry of Water Resources and Power.

Li Peng was elected member of the CPC Central Committee at the 12th CPC National Congress in 1982 and was co-opted member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee in1985.

Beginning in 1983, Li Peng served as vice-premierof the State Council, took charge of energy, communications and raw materialsdepartments. Beginning in 1985, he served concurrently as minister in charge of the State Education Commission.

Li was elected member of the Standing Committeeof the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee in November 1987 and in the same month he was appointed acting Premier of the State Council. Five monthslater, that is, at the First Session of the Seventh National People's Congress, Li was appointed Premier of the State Council, the fourth premier in the history of the People's Republic of China.

Li was re-elected member of the Standing Committeeof the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee in October, 1992, and one year later was re-appointed premier at the First Session of the Eighth NPC. Between 1988 and 1990, he served concurrently as Minister of the StateCommission for Economic Restructuring.

Over the past decade since Li Peng became the Premier, China's national economy has maintained a healthy development momentum, with steady progress in economic restructuring, and fruitful results in opening up to the outside world and particularly in buildingthe socialist market economy. Meanwhile, China's exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries have greatly been enhanced. Li has made quite a number of visits to foreign countries, contributing to the consolidation and development of friendship and cooperation between China and other countries.

As the Premier of the People's Republic, Li Peng has always kept a tight schedule. Over the past decade, Li often went down to grassroots units across the country to do investigations and study. Over the past decade as Premier, he made inspection on study tours almost all over the country. Apart from paying attention to major political andeconomic situation in various places, he has been very much concerned about four figures -- workers' average income, farmers' average earnings, prices and the supply of vegetables and other non-staple food, all closely related to the people's daily life.

As the Premier, he has also paid much attention to the socialist culture and ethics, which he construed as promoting ideological and ethical progress and progress in education, science and culture. Lishowed particular concern for the work and life of the intellectuals.

According to sources close to him, Li is kind, amiable, easy of approach and good at making friends. Among his acquaintances are common folks as well as political personalities, experts and scholars. Li is well-versed in Russian and has learned English all by himself. He also loves reading.

At home, Li is a "model husband." Newspapers once published a photo showing Li Peng mending his overcoat. He said that he learned sewing in Yan'an in the 1940s when he lived together with children of many other revolutionary martyrs. "Li Peng has not the slightest traces of male chauvinism," said Zhu Lin, his wife. "Wheneverhe is free, he would lend a helping hand in household chores either when he was an ordinary official or later a minister or even after he became the Premier."

Li Peng's father, Li Shuoxun, was one of the earliest CPC members. He was murdered in Hainan Island by the Kuomintang when LiPeng was only three years old.

Li Peng's mother, Zhao Juntao, used to be an educator and also one of the early CPC members. She passed away in 1985.

Li Peng has a family of 11. His wife graduated from the Harbin Foreign Languages Institute and worked in the power departments for many years. The couple has two sons and one daughter.

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