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SCMP Reporter

1949 - Dingxiang: early life
	Born in Dingxiang County, Shanxi province, the fourth child of prominent Communist Party veteran Bo Yibo.
1968
	Bo, like his father, is jailed for five years during the Cultural Revolution.
1980
	Bo Xilai officially becomes a member of the Communist Party of China.
 

1981- Education in Beijing
	Bo graduates from the Beijing University Department of History with a Bachelor of Arts in world history.
He begins graduate studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and earns a Master of Arts in journalism in 1982.
 

1984 - Dalian bureaucrat
Bo finds work in the Liaoning provincial government becoming CCP secretary of Jin County in Jinzhou, Dalian and the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone.
1988
	Bo becomes director of the Publicity Department of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee. He holds this post till 1989 when he becomes executive vice-mayor of Dalian.
1992
	Bo is appointed mayor of Dalian and holds the post for eight years. He manages to turn the city into one of China’s top investment and tourism hotspots.

1999
	Bo serves as CCP secretary of Dalian until December. He gets promoted to acting governor of Liaoning Province in 2000.
2001
	Bo becomes governor of Liaoning and helps tackle the province’s unemployment and corruption problems.
2002
	Bo and the Communist Party princelings make a political comeback.
	 

2004 - Back to Beijing
Bo gains a spot in the powerful (16th) CPC Central Committee. He becomes Minister of Commerce and moves to Beijing.

2007
January 15
	Bo Yibo, father of Bo Xilai, dies at age 98. Bo senior was the last of the “Eight Immortals” communist leaders and played an influential role in helping Deng Xiaoping carry out market reforms during the 1980s. 
Despite siding with the protestors initially, Bo Yibo eventually gave in to pressure from hardliners and supported the use of force during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
October
	Bo Xilai is appointed Communist Party secretary of Chongqing municipality and becomes member of the 25-member 17th CPC Central Committee Politburo.
 

2008 - Chongqing's chief
July
	The Chongqing municipal government, led by Bo, begins its "red culture" movement. He urges locals to learn communist revolutionary songs.
2009
July
	A "red text messages" campaign is initiated by Bo. Quotes from Mao Zedong's Little Red Book are sent to Chongqing's 13 million mobile phone users.
Bo launches his infamous crackdown on corruption and organised crime. He executes most of the work via right-hand man and future vice-mayor of Chongqing, Wang Lijun.
2010
	The media starts to speculate that Bo will be promoted for a seat in the Politburo Standing Committee ahead of the 18th Communist Party congress in 2012.
2011
	Bo becomes world famous for his so-called “Chongqing model” of development and promoting a “red culture” movement.   His flamboyant and populist style of politics are seen as a stark contrast to conventional communist practices in China.   
November 14
	British businessman and Bo family associate Neil Heywood dies in a Chongqing hotel, marking the beginning of one of China’s most controversial political scandals.
 

2012 - Downfall
February 6
	Bo’s right-hand man Wang Lijun flees to the US consulate in Chengdu. Upon leaving, he is whisked away by government officials.
Bo makes his first comments on Wang's case in a question-and-answer session on the sidelines of the NPC meeting, saying he had picked the wrong man for the job.

March 8
	Bo misses the second plenary session of the National People’s Congress (NPC).
March 15
	Bo is removed as Chongqing party chief and replaced by Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang.
April 10
	Reports arise of Bo being stripped of all Communist Party posts which include membership of the Central Committee and Politburo.
July 27
	Bo’s wife Gu Kailai stands trial for murder.
August 20
	Gu Kailai is given a suspended death sentence for the murder of Neil Heywood.

August 31
	The National People's Congress Standing Committee fails to announce stripping Bo's membership in the national legislature as was widely expected, stoking speculation that Bo may be given lenience. 
September 19
	Bo is implicated for the first time in a criminal act, in a published account by state media of the trial of the ex-police chief Wang Lijun.
September 24
	Ex-police chief Wang Lijun is sentenced to 15 years for defection and other crimes at a court in Chengdu.
September 28
	The Communist Party announces that Bo is stripped of his Party membership and all official roles, and will be handed over to judicial authorities to face justice. 


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Bo Xilai

Timeline: Bo Xilai's political career

Bo Xilai as Mayor of Dalian, during a luncheon in Hong Kong, September 26, 1994. Photo: SCMP

Bo Xilai as China's Minister of Commerce at an Asean news conference in Manila, in August 2007. Photo: AP

Bo Xilai attends a session at the National People's Congress in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Bo Xilai as governor of Liaoning in March 2003.  Photo: SCMP

Bo Xilai (left) as mayor of Dalian and Henry Fok Ying-tung, March 1993.  Photo: SCMP