Wan Gang

Wan Gang (, born August 1952) is a Chinese expert on automobiles and retired politician, who served as the minister of science and technology from 2007 to 2018. The chairman of the China Zhi Gong Party, Wan was one of the few non-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ministers in China's State Council.

A graduate of the Northeast Forestry University, Wan was a visiting scholar to the Clausthal University of Technology in Germany from 1985 to 1991. He started working for Audi in 1991, where he contributed to research and development efforts. After proposing for China to focus on new car technologies using clean fuel in 2000, he was invited by the Chinese government to return to China to head the electric automobile projects in the 863 Program. He became the president of Tongji University in 2002, serving there until 2007.

In 2007, he was appointed as the minister of science and technology. He also became the chairman of the China Zhi Gong Party later that year, and was appointed as a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 2008. As minister, Wan promoted the development of electric vehicles, and has been nicknamed the "father of China’s electric car industry". He retired as minister in 2018, and later stepped down as CPPCC vice chairman in 2023. Provided by Wikipedia