, China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

) was one of four Vice Premiers

Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China

The Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China is a high-ranking executive assistant to the Premier. There is a First-ranking Vice Premier , sometimes called Executive Vice Premier wrongly by the non-official media. It is an informal title and takes over duties of the...

 of the State Council

State Council of the People's Republic of China

The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...

 of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, overseeing the country's economy until March 2008. Known as the "iron lady

Iron Lady

Iron Lady is a nickname that has frequently been used to describe female heads of government around the world. The term describes a "strong willed" woman...

", Wu is one of the toughest negotiators in China's government.

Biography

In April 1962, she joined the Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

. In August of the same year, she graduated from the Petroleum Refinery department at the Beijing Petroleum Institute, with a degree in petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 engineering. She spent much of her career as a petroleum technician, eventually becoming deputy manager at the Beijing Dongfang Hong refinery, and assistant manager and party secretary at the Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Corporation.

She was elected deputy mayor of Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 in 1988, and held that office until 1991. Following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...

, she persuaded coal workers threatening to go on strike to continue working after some of their colleagues had been killed. From 1991 until 1998, she held successively the posts of Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, and member of the Fourteenth

14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

The 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was in session from 1992 to 1997. It held seven plenary sessions.It elected the 14th Politburo of the Communist Party of China in 1992.-Brief chronology:#1st Plenary Session...

 and Fifteenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

The 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was in session from 1997 to 2002. It held seven plenary sessions.It elected the 15th Politburo of the Communist Party of China in 1997.-Brief chronology:#1st Plenary Session...

. A protege of Zhu Rongji

Zhu Rongji

Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...

, she became a state councillor in 1998, and was appointed Vice Premier of the State Council in March 2003. She was the first woman to hold the position since economic and political reforms in 1978, and the most powerful woman in Chinese politics since Jiang Qing

Jiang Qing

Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...

. She helped negotiate the PRC's entry into the World Trade Organization

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

 and reorganised the customs service after U.S. complaints over the widespread violation of intellectual property

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...

 rights.

During the SARS

Severe acute respiratory syndrome

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus . Between November 2002 and July 2003 an outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong nearly became a pandemic, with 8,422 cases and 916 deaths worldwide according to the WHO...

 crisis, she replaced Zhang Wenkang

Zhang Wenkang

Zhang Wenkang was the health minister of China during the SARS outbreak who was sacked for mishandling the matter.Zhang was a supporter of former President Jiang Zemin. After he was fired, he was placed in various ceremonial positions.-References:...

, who had been fired for his coverup of the crisis, as health minister and headed a committee to solve the crisis. She was called the "Goddess of Transparency" by Time magazine

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

 for her leadership during the SARS crisis and named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2004. In the middle of the SARS endemic, Wu fiercely snubbed the advocation for Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

's WHO

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 participation during the WHO general assembly. One video clip aired widely in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 showed Wu rebuffing the question of Taiwan's representation during interview by a Taiwanese reporter. After the assembly, a Taiwanese reporter asked the Chinese delegation if they knew what the needs were of the 23 million citizens of Taiwan. Surprisingly, an official beside Wu Yi replied, "Who cares about you people!" to the Taiwanese reporter.

Called by Chinese media as the "Iron Lady of China", Wu is regarded as a firm and direct woman who, unlike her colleagues, has not dyed her graying hair black. Since becoming Vice Premier, Wu has been an able diplomat in signing agreements with neighboring Asian countries. She also makes frequent inspection visits to many southern Chinese regions. Since the death of Huang Ju

Huang Ju

Huang Ju was the Executive Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China. He joined the Communist Party of China in March 1966. He was ranked 6th out of 9, and was one of the least popular and most partisan members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Party...

, the senior Vice Premier, Wu has taken on the portfolio of overseeing financial work.

Vice Premier Wu announced at the end of 2007 that she would retire in March 2008. During the last few months of her tenure she was involved in negotiations with U.S. toy giant Mattel

Mattel

Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

 over toy lead content that brought significant woes to the reputation of Chinese products. At a meeting held with Chinese business leaders in early 2008 Wu revealed that her personal salary totaled RMB 120,000, or 17,582.40 U.S. dollars per year, and told the business leaders that they should only "take money from the right places".

Trivia

Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

magazine considered her the second most powerful woman in the world in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and the third most powerful in 2006.

External links

• Wu Yi biography at China Vitae

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