Xu Dazhe

Xu Dazhe (Chinese: 许达哲; born September 1956) is a Chinese engineer-turned-politician. He is currently the Governor of Hunan province. Previously, he was the chief administrator of the China National Space Administration, and the head of the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.^[1]

Biography

Born in Liuyang, Hunan province, Xu Dazhe obtained a bachelor's and a master's degree in engineering from the Harbin Institute of Technology. He joined the Communist Party in 1982. Xu began his career in the Ministry of Aerospace Industry in 1984 as a technical designer, then was promoted to lead individual projects. Xu also has experience as the head of a rocket construction team. The ministry was eventually spun off as a state-owned enterprise and governed as a corporation. In 2007, Xu was named chief executive and head of the party group of the China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation, promoted in April 2013 to Chairman of the Board.

In 2013 he was named vice minister of Industry and Information Technology, and chief administrator of the China National Space Administration. In September 2016, he was appointed the acting governor of his home province, Hunan. He was the 18th person since 1949 to serve as Governor of Hunan. Xu followed in the footsteps of prominent colleagues such as Ma Xingrui and Chen Qiufa in making the transition from aerospace to politics.^[2]

Xi was a member of the 17th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and is a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

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