Meng Jianzhu

Meng Jianzhu (; born July 1947) is a retired Chinese politician best known for his term as the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party between 2012 and 2017. He also headed the Central Public Security Comprehensive Management Commission.

Meng began his career in a farming cooperative based in rural Shanghai. He made his way up the ranks in the city, serving as vice mayor in charge of agriculture, then deputy party secretary. Prior to his tenure as Zhengfawei secretary, he also served as the Minister of Public Security and Party Secretary of Jiangxi Province.

Biography

Early life, Shanghai Meng was born in July 1947 in Wu County, a present-day urban district of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. In the 1960s, he headed to Changxing Island in Shanghai to become a tractor operator. For the next 13 years he worked on the rural agricultural cooperative. He graduated from the Shanghai Mechanical College (now part of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology). He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1971. He became head of the rural cooperative in 1981.

He spent much of his earlier political career in Shanghai. He served in leading roles in Chuansha County (which became Pudong New District in 1992) and Jiading County, before being transferred to become one of the deputy mayors of Shanghai starting in 1993. His portfolio included was agriculture and rural development. In 1996 he was promoted to become the deputy Party secretary of Shanghai, one of the most powerful positions in China's commercial hub. He held the position until 2001. While in Shanghai Meng was low-key and camera-shy, but was largely popular with city residents. This was further cemented at the third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee held in November 2013. The implementation of the policy was largely completed by the end of that year. Meng also criticized the interference of local party authorities, specifically the Political and Legal Affairs Commissions at the local or provincial government level for the practice of interference in individual court cases, compromising the integrity of judicial independence.

While his predecessor Zhou Yongkang underwent investigation for corruption and other offenses in 2014, Meng remained untouched by the scandal despite having served under Zhou for five years as public security minister due to the bad relationship and clashes between Zhou and Meng. Other former subordinates of Zhou in the ministry, such as former deputy minister Li Dongsheng, were detained for investigation.

Meng retired from Politburo and Political and Legal Affairs Commission after the 19th Party Congress in October 2017, when Guo Shengkun succeeded to Meng's position as Secretary of Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

Personal life Meng's associates and colleagues describe him as soft-spoken, humble, likes to smile, of thin build, and looks like an intellectual.