Li Changchun, Communist Party chief in the southern province of Guangdong, was born in 1944 in the north-eastern industrial province of Liaoning.

He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1966.

A protege of President Jiang Zemin, Mr Li has been fast-tracked through the party ranks and has a strong record of reform and achievement.

In 1983, aged 39, he became the youngest mayor and Party secretary of a major city, the capital of Liaoning province, Shenyang.

Three years later he became governor of the province.

While he held this post, China's first expressway was built in the province, linking the cities of Shenyang and Dalian and contributing to economic growth in the region.

For a short time in the early 1990s Mr Li was Party chief in the agricultural province of Henan, before moving to Guangdong.

After serving just 14 years as a provincial governor or party chief, Mr Li was promoted to the Politburo - again the youngest ever member.