Zhou Yongkang
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhou. Zhou Yongkang Chinese 周永康 Transcriptions Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōu Yǒngkāng Wu Romanization Tzoe Yon-khân Zhou Yongkang (born December 1942) is a retired senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He was a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China's highest decision-making body, and the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (Zhengfawei) between 2007 and 2012. In that position, Zhou oversaw China's security apparatus and law enforcement institutions, with power stretching into courts, prosecution agencies, police forces, paramilitary forces, and intelligence organs. Zhou rose through the ranks of the Communist Party through his involvement in the oil and gas industry, starting as a technician on the Daqing oil field during the Cultural Revolution. He was at the helm of the China National Petroleum Corporation between 1996 and 1998, then became Minister of Land and Natural Resources until 1999, and subsequently Party Secretary of Sichuan, then China's second most populous province. Zhou was a State Councilor of the State Council from 2003 to 2008 and also a member of the Party Secretariat of the Central Committee. He served as the Minister of Public Security from 2002–07, before being promoted to the PSC. Zhou retired at the 18th Party Congress in 2012. In late 2013, Zhou was placed under investigation for alleged abuse of power and corruption, a decision state media announced in July 2014. Zhou was the first Politburo Standing Committee member – and the most senior-ranked official – since the founding of the People's Republic of China to be investigated for corruption. On December 5, 2014, state media announced Zhou's arrest to face criminal charges, as well as his expulsion from the Communist Party of China.