Wen re-elected Chinese Premier for 5 more yrs

Wen Jiabao was today re-elected China's Premier for a second five-year term with the Parliament sealing his appointment in a formality through a secret ballot.

A charismatic leader, 65-year-old Wen was the only candidate for the Premiership, ranked third in the Communist Party of China (CPC) hierarchy after the President and the top legislature speaker.

The premier is, however, the most visible face after the President and CPC General Secretary, dual posts held by Hu Jintao, who won a fresh five-year mandate from the deputies of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Chinese Parliament, yesterday.

Under the Chinese Constitution, the candidate for the premiership is nominated by the President before the secret balloting is held.

A key part of the fourth generation of the CPC leadership, Wen, a technocrat, has the image of being a "people's premier" for being a man of the masses with a genial persona.

Wen has also overseen China's economic reforms and has been managing the economy grappling the multifarious challenges and presiding over a vast bureaucracy of the world's most populous nation with multiple complexities.

The Parliament also endorsed the appointment of People's Liberation Army Generals Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou as Vice-Chairmen of the Central Military Commission (CMC), headed by President Hu.