Early Life and Career
Born in Nanyang, Henan Province, Chang joined the PLA in March 1968 and the Communist Party of China (CPC) in November of the same year. From January 2002 to December 2004, he was the chief of staff and a CPC committee member of the PLA Lanzhou Military Region. From December 2004 to September 2007, he was the commander of the PLA Shenyang Military Region. Since September 2007, he has been serving as the director of the PLA General Armaments Department. In October 2007 he was elected as a member of the Central Military Commission.
He attained the rank of major general in July 1997, lieutenant general in 2003, and full general in October 2007. He has been a member of the 16th and 17th Central Committees.
In October 2012, he was appointed Minister of National Defense, succeeding General Liang Guanglie.
At the first plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress, he was also elected as State Councilor.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Liang Guanglie |
Minister of National Defence 2013– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
Read more about this topic: Chang Wanquan
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or career:
“[My early stories] are the work of a living writer whom I know in a sense, but can never meet.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“On the grey rock of Cashel I suddenly saw
A Sphinx with woman breast and lion paw,
A Buddha, hand at rest,
Hand lifted up that blest;
And right between these two a girl at play
That, it may be, had danced her life away....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Clearly, society has a tremendous stake in insisting on a woman’s natural fitness for the career of mother: the alternatives are all too expensive.”
—Ann Oakley (b. 1944)