Sun Zhigang (Chinese: 孙志刚; born 30 May 1954) is a former Chinese politician who was Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou. He was formerly mayor of Yichang, the secretary-general of the Hubei party committee under Yu Zhengsheng, the Vice-Governor of Anhui province, and chief of the national office for health care reform.
After graduating from college, Sun stayed at his alma mater as an instructor. He entered the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics to pursue graduate studies in economics, then he became, for a brief period, a research fellow at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. In April 1985, he quit academia to pursue a career in politics, entering the Wuhan municipal government.[2]
Political career
In Wuhan, the provincial capital, Sun became the deputy head of the city's economics commission, and also in charge of economic restructuring. He became the district deputy party chief, then governor of Hanyang District. In March 1993 he was named vice mayor of Wuhan, then transferred to serve as the mayor of Yichang in August 1996, and promoted to party chief in March 1999. He became a member of the provincial Party Standing Committee in June 2002, and the secretary-general of the Party Committee, becoming chief of staff under then-party chief Yu Zhengsheng.[2]
Beginning in September 2006, Sun began serving as executive vice governor of Anhui province, and a member of the party ruling council there. After a comprehensive set of health care reforms were put into effect by the central government, Sun spearheaded implementation of the reforms in Anhui province, pioneering a government drug purchase program which was circulated at the national level and dubbed the "Anhui model."[3] He was then tasked with implementing the Anhui model nationwide, taking on the role of deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission in March 2010, and then in December 2010, the chief of the Office of Health Care Reform.[2] In a government reshuffle in March 2013, Sun was named deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.[4]
On 16 October 2015, Sun was appointed acting governor of Guizhou province, succeeding Chen Min'er, who had been promoted to provincial party chief. Sun's governorship was duly confirmed by the provincial People's Congress on 30 January 2016.[5]
In February 2024, Sun was expelled from the CCP and arrested for bribery.[8][9][10] On August 14, he stood trial for graft at the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin, and was indicted for accepting bribes worth 813 million yuan (about 113.87 million U.S. dollars).[11] Sun has been sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve on October 29.[12]
PB Former member of the Politburo; PLA Also a military official; CDI Member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection or affiliates 1For details on the civil service ranks of officials, please see Civil Service of the People's Republic of China; 2Army generals listed have attained at least the rank of Major General, which usually enjoys the same administrative privileges as a civilian official of sub-provincial rank.