Zhao Kezhi

Zhao Kezhi (born 28 December 1953) is a Chinese retired politician who served as a State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China and as the Minister and Party Committee Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, with the top police officer rank of Police Commissioner General. He is the former Communist Party Secretary of Hebei and Guizhou provinces, and the former Governor of Guizhou province. He had also previously served as a vice governor of Shandong and Jiangsu provinces.

Career
Zhao was born in Laixi, Shandong province. He entered the workforce in March 1973 as a middle school teacher in Laixi, and joined the Chinese Communist Party in January 1975. In April 1984, he became Laixi's mayor and deputy Communist Party Chief. In March 1987, he was appointed mayor and deputy party chief of nearby Jimo, and became its party chief in 1989. In December 1997, he was promoted to be the party chief of Dezhou, a prefecture-level city in Shandong. From February 2001 to March 2006, he was the vice governor of Shandong province.

In 2006, Zhao was transferred to the neighbouring Jiangsu province, where he was the executive vice governor until August 2010, when he was transferred again to southwestern Guizhou province, where he was appointed deputy party chief and acting governor. A month later he was elected by the Guizhou Provincial Congress as governor. In July 2012 Zhao was promoted to concurrently serve as the Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou; in December he relinquished his governor post, and Chen Min'er was chosen as his successor.

In July 2015, following the dismissal of Zhou Benshun, Zhao was named party chief of Hebei province. During his term in Hebei, planning began for the ambitious Xiong'an New Area. In October 2017, shortly after the 19th Party Congress, Zhao, then 63, was appointed as the Party Committee Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security. He was appointed as the Minister of Public Security on November 4, 2017.

In March 2018, Zhao was appointed as a State Councilor. In June 2018, he became Deputy Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

Zhao is a member of the 18th and 19th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party.