Zhao Zhengyong

Zhao Zhengyong (; born March 1951) is a former politician of the People's Republic of China who served as Party Secretary, Governor, and Congress Chairman of Shaanxi Province. After his retirement, he was placed under investigation for corruption.

Career Zhao Zhengyong was born in Ma'anshan, Anhui Province in March 1951, and joined the Chinese Communist Party in November 1973. He is a graduate of Central South Mining and Metallurgy Institute (now part of Central South University). He worked at the Maanshan Iron and Steel Company before becoming chief of the Communist Youth League and then deputy Communist Party Chief of his native Ma'anshan in Anhui province. He then became the party chief of Huangshan City and later the public security chief of Anhui.

In June 2001, Zhao was transferred to the provincial government of Shaanxi, becoming a vice governor in January 2005. In June 2010 he was appointed the acting governor of Shaanxi, and confirmed as Governor by the Shaanxi Provincial Congress in January 2011. In December 2012 he was promoted to Party Secretary of Shaanxi, replacing Zhao Leji, and Lou Qinjian was appointed Governor in his place. Zhao was involved in the illegally constructed villas in the Qinling Mountains.

Zhao was a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Among these was an investment with private developers to build expensive villas on the northern slope of Qinling Mountain in an environmentally protected area. He was expelled from the Communist Party on January 4, 2020, and his qualification for delegates to the 13th CCP Shaanxi Provincial Congress was terminated. The day Zhao stepped down, his fellow townsman and subordinate, Chen Guoqiang, vice-governor of Shaanxi, was also taken away for investigation. Wei Minzhou, former chief of Shaanxi's capital city Xi'an, was known to be a close ally of Zhao, was placed under investigation for serious violations of regulations in May 2017. The court said that "Zhao was given a two-year reprieve for his death penalty and deprived of political rights for life, with his personal property confiscated. After he finishes the two-year probation, his death penalty will be reduced to life imprisonment without commutation or parole." He was also deprived of his political rights for life, and ordered by the court to have all his personal assets confiscated. Zhao has a younger brother named Zhao Zhengfa . After the downfall of Zhao Zhengyong, his wife, younger brother, and daughter were arrested for investigation.