Tan Shaowen

Tan Shaowen (; July 4, 1929 – February 3, 1993) was a Chinese politician. He served as the Communist Party Chief and top leader of the direct-controlled municipality of Tianjin, and was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, one of the most powerful political bodies in the People's Republic of China. However, he died in 1993 before completing the full term of his office.

Early life and career Tan Shaowen was born on July 4, 1929 in Xinjin County, Sichuan province.

From 1948 to 1952 Tan attended several institutes of higher learning, including the Ming Yin College in Chengdu Textile Engineering and the Northwest Institute of Textile Engineering.

From August 1981 to May 1982, he served as the Deputy Director, the Deputy Party Secretary, and eventually the Director of the Tianjin Education Committee. Tan was supposedly drawn into the central leadership in order to counteract the growing trend for local politicians to ignore the policy of the central government.

Due to his early death, Tan served in only one of the seven Plenary Sessions of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. His death was significant, as it meant that the city of Tianjin was no longer represented in the Politburo. The next Tianjin party chief to gain a seat on the Politburo was Zhang Lichang in 2002.