Nur Bekri
 

English Biography


Nur Bekri, born August 1961 in Bole, Xinjiang) is the current Chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. He is of Uyghur ethnicity and was born and raised in his native Xinjiang. He has spent his entire life in the Region, aside from a short stint as the Deputy Mayor of Feicheng, Shandong. He was also formerly Mayor of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.



Political Career

He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in December 1982. He had served as deputy party secretary of the Xinjiang Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China since January 2005.


Nur Bekri was appointed at the 35th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th Xinjiang Regional People's Congress in Urumqi to replace Ismail Tiliwaldi, who resigned as Chairman in December 2007. He serves alongside Party Secretary Wang Lequan.


Nur Bekri also delivered the televised address to after the 2009 Urumqi riots. In the speech he elaborated on the situation that has led up to the violence and then condemned who he deemed to be coordinators of the attack. He was the highest-ranked government official to deliver a televised speech on this issue.


Nur Bekri's critical comments of Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti were in part responsible for Tohti's arrest just days after the Urumqi riots.