Wan Gang, a member of the China Zhi Gong (Public Interest) Party, replaced 65-year-old Xu Guanhua as Minister of Science and Technology in April 2007.
A former automobile engineer at the Audi Corporation in Germany, Wan, born in August 1952, was president of the Shanghai-based Tongji University before his appointment.
China's top legislature approved the cabinet nomination of Chen Zhu, 54, a Paris-trained scientist with no political party affiliation, as the country's new health minister in June 2007.
The Party will "select and recommend a greater number of outstanding non-CPC persons for leading positions", Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged in his keynote speech to the 17th CPC National Congress held earlier this month.
