Shohrat Zakir

{{Short description|Chinese politician of Uyghur origin}}

{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2019}}{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Shohrat Zakir

| native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|ug|شۆھرەت زاكىر}}}}
{{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|雪克来提·扎克尔}}}}

| image = Shohrat Zakir.jpg

| imagesize =

|order = Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

|term_start = March 10, 2023

|term_end =

| 1blankname = Chairman

| 1namedata = Zhao Leji

| office1 = Chairman of Xinjiang

| term_start1 = January 24, 2015

| term_end1 = September 30, 2021

| predecessor1 = Nur Bekri

| successor1 = Erkin Tuniyaz

| office2 = Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional People's Congress

| term_start2 = January 2014

| term_end2 = December 2014

| predecessor2 = Arken Imirbaki

| successor2 = Neyim Yasin

| office3 = Mayor of Ürümqi

| term_start3 = March 2001

| term_end3 = December 2005
Acting: December 2000 – March 2001

| predecessor3 = Nur Bekri

| successor3 = Neyim Yasin

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1953|8}}

| birth_place = Yining (Ghulja), Xinjiang, China

| parents = Abdullah Zakrof

| party = Chinese Communist Party

| module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes|order=st

| s = 雪克来提·扎克尔

| t = 雪克來提·扎克爾

| p = Xuěkèláití Zhākè'ěr

| uig = شۆھرەت زاكىر

| usy = Шɵһрəт Закир

| showflag = p

}}

}}

Shohrat Zakir ({{langx|ug|شۆھرەت زاكىر}}, {{Lang-zh|c=雪克来提·扎克尔}}; born August 1953) is a Chinese politician of Uyghur ethnicity who served as the chairman of Xinjiang and the deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xinjiang Committee from 2014 to 2021.

Born in Yining (Ghulja), he studied computer science in Hubei Province, and later attended Tianjin University. Between 2000 and 2005, he served as the mayor of Ürümqi. He served as the chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region between 2015 and 2021. Between 2017 and 2022, he was a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In March 2023, he was appointed a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Early life

Born in Yining,{{Cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2014-01/21/c_126035896.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811202648/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2014-01/21/c_126035896.htm|url-status=dead |title=雪克来提·扎克尔,新华网,|date=2014-01-21 |language=zh |archivedate=August 11, 2014}} Zakir was born into a family with revolutionary history. His grandfather Kaur Zakir was a progressive thinker during the warlord era and was executed by state agents of the warlord Sheng Shicai along with Mao Zemin and Chen Tanqiu. His father Abdullah Zakrof was one of the earliest ethnic Uyghurs to join the Xinjiang party organization shortly after the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949. Prior to the Cultural Revolution, Zakir's father was a member of the regional standing committee and Vice Chairman of Xinjiang.{{cite news|script-title=zh:"红色黑马"雪克来提|trans-title="Red Dark Horse" Xueke Lait |language=zh|date=2015-01-04 |url=http://news.takungpao.com/mainland/focus/2015-01/2877351.html|accessdate=2015-01-13|newspaper=takungpao.com}}

Between 1970 and 1972, Zakir was involved in the "Down to the Countryside Movement" in rural Xinjiang. He then worked as a teacher in an elementary school in Ürümqi. He was transferred to Diwobao school in 1974. In March 1978, he left his homeland for Hubei to attend the Jianghan Petroleum College (now Yangtze University) located in Jingzhou to study computer science. He then returned to Xinjiang to serve as a researcher at an earth sciences institute. In June 1984, he joined government, working for the regional economic committee.

Career

Between 1982 and 1986, Zakir obtained an English degree at the Urumqi Vocational College. During this time he also joined the Chinese Communist Party. He then worked in a series of roles supporting economic growth and trade in the regional government. In March 2001, he was named mayor of Urumqi. Beginning in December 2005 he worked for the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. In 2007, he also earned an Executive MBA from Tianjin University. At the 2008 National People's Congress Zakir was selected to become a member of the National Ethnic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress. In June 2011, he became vice-chair of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. In January 2014, he became Chairman of the Xinjiang People's Congress{{cite news|url=http://news.163.com/api/14/0120/20/9J2E5ML90001124J.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202192315/http://news.163.com/api/14/0120/20/9J2E5ML90001124J.html |archive-date=2014-02-02 |url-status=dead|script-title=zh:雪克莱提·扎克尔当选新疆人大常委会主任|trans-title=Shekleti Zaker was elected Director of the Standing Committee of Xinjiang People's Congress |language=zh |work=163.com |date=2014-01-20|accessdate=2014-01-20}} and in December 2014, he was named Chairman of Xinjiang, replacing Nur Bekri.

In March 2019, addressing the issue of the widespread internment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Zakir said that the camps were "training centers" rather than "concentration camps" as otherwise claimed and that the freedom of "trainees" was not restricted and that the camps were boarding schools where trainees could go home or ask for leave.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201903/12/WS5c8775e8a3106c65c34ee376.html|title=Situation in Xinjiang stable: region chairman|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}

On October 23, 2021, he was appointed vice chairperson of the National People's Congress Ethnic Affairs Committee.{{cite news|url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15039348 |script-title=zh:刘家义任第十三届全国人大财经委员会副主任委员 |work=thepaper |date=23 October 2021 |access-date=28 October 2021 |language=zh}}

On March 10, 2023, during the 14th National People's Congress, he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.{{cite web | title=新华社快讯:李鸿忠、王东明、肖捷、郑建邦、丁仲礼、郝明金、蔡达峰、何维、武维华、铁凝、彭清华、张庆伟、洛桑江村、雪克来提·扎克尔当选为第十四届全国人大常委会副委员长,刘奇当选为第十四届全国人大常委会秘书长-广东人大网 | website=广东人大网 | date=2023-03-11 | url=https://www.gdpc.gov.cn/gdrdw/rdzt/14th/schedule/organization/content/post_180794.html | language=zh | access-date=2025-03-18}}{{cite web | title=第十四届全国人民代表大会常务委员会副委员长、秘书长简历_滚动新闻_中国政府网 | website=中国政府网_中央人民政府门户网站 | date=2023-05-26 | url=https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2023-03/10/content_5745925.htm | language=zh | access-date=2025-03-18}}

Sanctions

On December 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added Zakir to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Individuals on the list have their assets blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.{{Cite web|title=Global Magnitsky Designations; North Korea Designations; Burma-related Designations; Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (NS-CMIC) List Update|url=https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20211210|access-date=2021-12-10|website=U.S. Department of the Treasury|language=en}}

On December 10, 2024, on International Human Rights Day, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Mélanie Joly announced Canada's sanctions against Zakir and seven other government officials of Xinjiang and Tibet involved in serious human rights violations.{{Cite web|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/zh-hans/%E6%96%B0%E9%97%BB/2125936/%E5%9B%BD%E9%99%85%E4%BA%BA%E6%9D%83%E6%97%A5-%E5%8A%A0%E6%8B%BF%E5%A4%A7-%E5%88%B6%E8%A3%81-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD-%E9%AB%98%E5%AE%98|title=国际人权日 加拿大制裁中国八名高官|newspaper=Radio Canada|date=2024-12-11|first=Donna|last=Chan|access-date=2025-01-03}}

References