Chen Zhili
陈至立
Chen in 2009
President of the All-China Women's Federation
In office October 2008 – 7 May 2013
Preceded by	Gu Xiulian
Succeeded by	Shen Yueyue
Minister of Education
In office March 1998 – March 2003
Preceded by	Zhu Kaixuan
Succeeded by	Zhou Ji
Personal details
Born	November 1942 (age 81) Xianyou County, Fujian, Republic of China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (1961–2013)
Alma mater	Fudan University
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	陈至立
Traditional Chinese	陳至立
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Zhìlì

Chen Zhili (Chinese: 陈至立; born November 1942)^[1] is a retired senior Chinese politician who served as State Councilor and Minister of Education, and a Vice Chairperson of the National People's Congress. She was vice chairman of the organization commission of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Biography

Born in Xianyou County, Fujian Province, Chen graduated from the department of physics at Fudan University. She pursued her postgraduate degree at Shanghai Institute of Ceramics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, doing research of solid-state physics. Chen joined the Chinese Communist Party ("CCP") in January 1961. At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Chen was sent to work in an army farm for two years before returning to the Institute. In 1982, she was at Penn State University in the United States as a visiting scholar. After that, she was elevated to vice Party Chief of the Institute, and thus transformed from a scholar to a CCP official.

Chen's former posts in Shanghai included vice secretary and later, secretary of the CCP committee of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, director of the propaganda department of Shanghai, and vice secretary of CCP Shanghai committee. During her tenure in Shanghai, Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, Wu Bangguo and Huang Ju served as Shanghai's Party chief.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1997, Chen was transferred to central government and appointed as vice director and leader of Party group of National Education Commission. In 1998, she became the Minister of Education. In 2003, she was further elevated to the position of State Councilor, in charge of education, culture and sports. In March 2008, Chen was elected a Vice Chairperson of the National People's Congress. On April 12, 2008, she was appointed as governor of Beijing Olympic Village.^{[citation needed]}

Chen was an alternate member of 13th and 14th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party, and a full member of 15th, 16th, 17th Central Committees.