Biography
Luo Gan studied engineering at the Beijing Steel and Iron Institute. Luo joined the Communist Party of China in 1960.
Afterwards, he moved to East Germany and spent eight years as a student at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg as well as working in steel plants. Upon returning to China, Luo continued to work in the steel industry and became party chief of the central Henan Province in the 1980s.
Luo has developed a close relationship with Li Peng and is considered his protégé. He was appointed as the Minister of Labor from April to December in 1988.
Luo was appointed a state councillor in 1993 (served until 2003), and became a member of the Politburo in 1998. Serving as the security chief, he implemented the "strike hard" anti-crime campaign, which blamed to have led to increased executions, and is said to have personally directed the suppression of illegal organisations and protests such as that at the Pubugou Dam protest in 2004. He was also instrumental in the Falun Gong crackdown.
As the oldest member of the Politburo Standing Committee, he retired after the CPC's 17th Party Congress in the fall of 2007.
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