Topic

Guo Jinlongi

Guo Jinlong was appointed Beijing party chief in 2012 after less than five years as the capital's mayor. But his new role was tested when, just days later, the city was struck by the heaviest downpour in almost six decades, leaving at least 79 people dead and thousands homeless. After graduating from the University of Nanjing in 1969, where he majored in physics, Guo spent the next 16 years rising through the party ranks. In early 2008 - the year Beijing hosted the Olympics - he became the city's mayor.