Zhou Yongkang

Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, became the highest-ranking Party official to fall under corruption investigation on July 29, 2014 when state media announced a probe into his "serious discipline violations". Born in 1942, Zhou was secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the party’s Central Committee from 2007 to 2012. Other positions he held include vice minister of the petroleum industry (1985-1988), minister of land and resources (1998-1999), and Sichuan party boss (1999-2002). In 2002 he became head of the Ministry of Public Security and was made a member of the Politburo’s standing committee in 2007.