Minister of State Security (China)

The minister of state security is a Chinese government position within the constituent departments of the State Council which functions as the head of the Ministry of State Security. The position reports directly to the head of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLC) of the Chinese Communist Party. Within the State Council, the position is ninth in order of precedence. All ministers of state security have held the position as civilians while simultaneously being given the police rank of commissioner general during their tenure. Like the minister of public security, the minister holds the police badge identification number “000001”.

History

The position of minister of state security was established in 1983 with the creation of the ministry following the combination of counterintelligence functions of the Ministry of Public Security with the Central Investigation Department.

Several ministers of state security have gone on to serve in other senior cabinet posts, including minister of public security. Jia Chunwang further advanced to Procurator–General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, a position roughly equivalent to attorney general. In 2022, Chen Wenqing became the first outgoing minister of state security to be promoted directly to leader of the CPLC, whose oversight portfolio includes the MSS, while incoming minister Chen Yixin became dual hatted, retained his previous position as the third rank position of Secretary-General of the CPLC, in addition to leading the MSS.

Selection

Officially, the minister is nominated by the premier of the State Council, who is then approved by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee and appointed by the president. In practice, the minister is chosen within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership. New ministers of state security are selected periodically, with recent ministers each being formally elected to the CCP Central Committee during iterations of the CCP National Congress held every five years, though such decisions are normally made in secret at the Beidaihe meeting held each August in Beidaihe, Hebei to litigate and preplan the upcoming years decisions.

List of ministers

Social Affairs Department (1939–1955)

Central Investigation Department (1955–1983)

Ministry of State Security (1983–present)