Liu Yandong, former Chinese vice-premier and Politburo member, dies at 80

Liu Yandong, a former Chinese vice-premier who served in the Communist Party’s senior leadership, died in Beijing on Wednesday, 28 October, at age 80, the South China Morning Post reported. She held the vice-premier post from 2013 to 2018 and was the fourth woman to serve in that role.

The South China Morning Post said Liu died of illness. It did not give a more specific cause. The newspaper reported that an official obituary released by Xinhua called her an outstanding leader in the party’s united front work and in education, science and technology, healthcare, and women and children’s affairs.

Liu Yandong’s roles in China’s leadership

As vice-premier, Liu’s responsibilities included education, science, culture and health, according to India Today. The portfolio covered public services and fields central to the government’s development plans. Her earlier work included leadership of the Central United Front Work Department, which India Today described as the party body responsible for building relationships with groups outside the Communist Party.

Liu entered that department in 1991 and later served as its deputy head and head, India Today reported. Before that, she had worked in industry and local administration and held senior positions in the Communist Youth League during the 1980s. She studied engineering chemistry at Tsinghua University from 1964 to 1970.

India Today also reported that Liu served as vice-chairperson of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body, and was involved in organising the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her career thus extended across party organisations, an advisory institution and the State Council, where she held her final vice-premier post.