Liu Tienan Appointed New Head of National Energy Administration

Yesterday our newspaper learned from a National Energy Administration official that Liu Tienan has taken the place of Zhang Guobao as the administration's new head.

At present, the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CPC has not yet formally announced the news, and Zhang Guobao's name has not been removed from the administration's leadership roster on the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) website. However the official with the National Energy Administration informed the EO that the announcement is going to take place very soon.

As things stand, a meeting in Harbin on ecological protection and economic development which took place on January 9 will have been Zhang Guobao's last meeting as the head of the National Energy Administration in Harbin.

The NDRC has stated that in the past few years, Zhang Guobao made important contributions to the industrial improvement of China's energy sector, and put forth great efforts to increase infrastructure construction, facilitate the restructuring of resources and promote technological progress.

Liu Tienan, the new head of the National Energy Administration, is from Qi County in Shanxi Province. He was born in Beijing in 1954 and he joined the Communist Party in 1976. He has a master's degree in economics and a PhD in engineering. His professional career includes various leadership positions for departmental agencies of the NDRC.

Zhang Guobao confirmed Liu's appointment to Reuters and stated, "I'm sure Liu will do a good job. We've worked together for around a decade already."

Links and Sources
Economic Observer Online: 刘铁男已接替张国宝主持国家能源局工作

Reuters: Head of China's energy agency confirms retirement