Born in Juancheng County, Shandong Province, Li graduated from department of Chinese literature of Shandong University, and joined the Chinese Communist Party in June 1971. In his early years, he served in various posts in Tianjin, and used to be the secretary of Li Ruihuan, the then Party chief of Tianjin. In the 1980s, when Li Ruihuan governed Tianjin, Li Jianguo was continuously elevated, and he served as vice director and director of general office of CPC Tianjin committee, vice secretary general of the committee, a standing committee member and secretary general of the committee, the secretary of CPC committee in Heping district of Tianjin, and eventually the vice Party chief of Tianjin.
In August 1997, Li was promoted to the secretary of CPC Shaanxi committee at the age of 51, and was elected the chairman of Shaanxi People's Congress in January 1998. He served in Shaanxi for 10 years until March 2007, when he was transferred to Shandong and became the Party chief of Shandong Province. Later, he was also elected the chairman of Shandong People's Congress. In March 2008, Li was elected vice chairman of National People's Congress and also became the secretary general of the Congress, thus becoming a national leader. He was re-elected vice chairman of the NPC in 2012, ranking first among the vice-chairmen.
