Liu Yandong

Liu Yandong (simplified Chinese: 刘延东; traditional Chinese: 劉延東, Pinyin: Liú Yándōng; born November 1945) is an official of the Communist Party of China currently serving on the Politburo and as Vice-Chairman of the CPPCC.

[edit] Biography

A native of Nantong, Jiangsu, Liu graduated from Tsinghua University in 1970. She is the current head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China, an organization that keeps non-Communist Chinese political parties in line with the general ideology of the Communist Party. Having long been an ally of President Hu Jintao and ascended from the ranks of the Communist Youth League, she entered the 17th Politburo of the Communist Party of China in 2007. She is the only female member of the Politburo. At the 2008 National People's Congress she was elected State Councilor, and was not elected as a Vice-Premier.