By Kim Eun-ji

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, 65, was officially elected to take Bo Xilai’s place on June 22, after the committee’s five-day congress in Chongqing, southwest China.

Bo, the former secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Party of China (CPC), had been ousted after reports revealed that his wife, Gu Kailai, had killed British Neil Heywood in November.

The congress, which was held from June 18, elected 79 committee members who will lead Chongqing city including Zhang, who had been the acting secretary of Chongqing Committee since Gu’s scandal. The elected members will serve for the next five years.

“The members of the Chongqing Committee should be a role model for [their] integrity,” said Zhang. “When requesting [others to do] something, [we] need to set an example and we should never do something we tell others not to.”

In his speech as the committee secretary, Zhang also hinted at Gu’s scandal.

“All members should take good care of not only themselves but also their spouses and children and remain trustworthy,” Zhang said.

Zhang had been a member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee since 2002 and served as a vice premier since 2008. Before starting political career, he had studied at Kim Il-sung University in North Korea and graduated in 1980 with a degree in economics.