He Xiangdong

He Xiangdong
何向东
He in 2024
Ambassador of China to Ireland
In office
May 2019 – October 2024
Preceded byYue Xiaoyong
Succeeded byZhao Xiyuan
Ambassador of China to South Sudan
In office
September 2016 – April 2019
Preceded byMa Qiang
Succeeded byHua Ning
Personal details
BornFebruary 1964 (age 61)
Hunan, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Alma materWuhan University
China Foreign Affairs University
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHé Xiàngdōng

He Xiangdong (Chinese: 何向东; born February 1964) is a Chinese diplomat who served as the Ambassador of China to Ireland from 2019 to 2024 and as Ambassador of China to South Sudan from 2016 to 2019.

Biography

He Xiangdong was born in Hunan in February 1964, while his ancestral home in Wuyi County, Zhejiang.[1] In September 1981, he entered Wuhan University, majoring in economics, where he graduated in July 1985.

After university, he worked as a journalist at World Knowledge. In September 1989, he was accepted to China Foreign Affairs University. After graduating in July 1991, he returned to his former work unit, the World Knowledge magazine. He was second secretary at Chinese Embassy in Oman from October 1994 to July 1996 and second secretary then first secretary at Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia from July 1996 to November 1999. He returned to China in November 1999, when he was appointed director and first secretary of the Political Research Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In June 2004, he was promoted to become counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, a position he held until August 2012. He became vice-mayor and member of the Standing Committee of the Lanzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in March 2014, and served until September 2016.[2]

He was granted his first ambassadorship as Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan in September 2016.[3] He served from 2016 through 2019.[4] He was appointed Chinese Ambassador to Ireland in May 2019 in succession to Yue Xiaoyong.[5] He left the position in October 2024,[6] and was succeeded by Zhao Xiyuan in November.[7]

References

  1. ^ 何向东大使简历. china-embassy.org (in Chinese). 2019-05-03.
  2. ^ Yue Huairang (2019-03-07). 何向东将卸任中国驻南苏丹大使,曾挂任兰州市委常委. The Paper (in Chinese).
  3. ^ "Ambassador He Xiangdong Holds Farewell Reception". chineseconsulate. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  4. ^ 何向东将卸任中国驻南苏丹大使 是浙江武义人. sina (in Chinese). 2019-03-08.
  5. ^ "H.E. Ambassador He Xiangdong Arrives in Dublin". china-embassy.org. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  6. ^ "何向东大使辞行拜会爱尔兰众议长奥法乔尔". ie.china-embassy.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  7. ^ "大使致辞". ie.china-embassy.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2025-08-17.