Chen Kuiyuan (born January 1941) is a former Chinese politician. In a lengthy public career, Chen served variously as the vice chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the president and the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and CCP Committee Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Henan. He retired in 2013.

Career

Inner Mongolia

Born in Kangping, Liaoning Province, Chen graduated from Inner Mongolia Normal College, majoring in political education. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in May 1965. After graduation in 1964, Chen was assigned to work in the CCP party school in Hulunbuir of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He later served in various posts in Hulunbuir and eventually became the Party chief of local CCP committee. In 1989, Chen became a standing member of CCP Inner Mongolia committee, and the secretary of commission for higher institutions of the autonomous region. In 1991, he was elevated to the vice chairman of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Tibet

In January 1992, Chen was transferred to Tibet Autonomous Region and became the deputy secretary of Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In November of that year, Chen succeeded Hu Jintao as the secretary of CCP Tibet Committee, essentially the top official of Tibet.

Henan

In 2000, he was transferred to Henan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party as party secretary. In December 2002, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party decided to appoint Li Keqiang to replace Chen as Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee.

Beijing

In January 2003, he moved up to the central government to become president and party secretary of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). In March 2003, at the first session of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Chen Kuiyuan was elected vice-chairman of the 10th CPPCC, and was reelected in March 2008; in April 2013, he stepped down as president and secretary of the CPC Central Committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and was succeeded by Wang Weiguang. Chen was a member of 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.