Zhou Shengxian

Zhou Shengxian (Chinese: 周生贤; born December 1949) is a Chinese politician, currently a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a largely ceremonial legislative consultation body. He was the first Minister of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China.

Zhou was born in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1972, and is a senior economist. He began his career as a middle school teacher. Eventually he rose to become Secretary-General of the Ningxia Autonomous Regional government, then Vice-Chairman of Ningxia, then he became deputy director of the State Forestry Administration.

He became Minister of Environmental Protection in 2008, after the ministry was reformed from the Environment Protection Bureau. The ministry was given more powers than the Bureau. He left office as environmental protection minister in 2015 due to having reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 for minister-level officials. Since then he has become a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and sits on the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment.

Zhou was an alternate member of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and was a full member of the 17th Central Committee and 18th Central Committee.

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