Li Shangfu’s four-decade career in China, where he played a key role in the ambitious space program, came to an end on Tuesday( Oct 24 ) with his removal as defense minister.
After Li had vanished from public watch for more than two decades, China’s top policymaking body, the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee, announced the decision at the conclusion of a five-day meeting.
On Tuesday, he was also fired from his role as a condition council member and expelled from the Central Military Commission.
Before being named China’s defense secretary in March, Li, 65, was a steadfast member of the country ‘ aircraft program. Li made headlines around the world as the first defence secretary on the US sanctions list.
Li was born in Sichuan in 1958 and grew up in the southeast Chinese province of Jiangxi. Li Shaozhu, his parents, served in the Red Army and was a former PLR Railway Force high-ranking agent. During the Korean War and the Civil War, the later Li Shaozhu was renowned for rebuilding logistical trains.
When Li Shangfu enrolled at the National University of Defence Technology in 1978, he became a member of the PLA. Li started working as a specialist at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center shortly after graduating in 1982.
In 2003, he was appointed director of the center, leading it as it developed into the confidence of China’s space program. He oversaw the Chang’e 1 objective, China’s second uncrewed aircraft to circle the sun, in 2007.
Li oversaw several rocket launches during his 10-year tenure as the center’s director, including the 2010 Chang’e 2 solar probe.
Li expressed his desire to work for eight more times and complete 100 more rocket launch before retiring in an appointment with state broadcaster CCTV in 2010.