Preceded by Zhang Shibo Name Song Puxuan Allegiance China | Succeeded by Zhang Shibo Preceded by Wang Xibin | |
Political party Communist Party of China Alma mater PLA National Defence University,
Shandong University | ||
Song Puxuan (Chinese: 宋普选; born March 1954) is a general (shang jiang) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. He is the current Commanding Officer of the Northern Theater Command and formerly served as President of the PLA National Defence University.
Biography
Song Puxuan was born in March 1954 in Boxing County, Shandong Province. He joined the PLA in 1969, and served in the Jinan Military Region for decades. He later rose to become a division commander in the 67th Group Army, Chief of Staff of the 54th Group Army, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Jinan Military Region. He has a bachelor's degree from the PLA National Defence University and a graduate degree in Marxist philosophy from Shandong University.
Song attained the rank of major general in 2002. In 2006, he succeeded Huang Hanbiao (黄汉标) as Commander of the elite 54th Group Army, which is nicknamed the "Iron Army". In 2008, the 54th Group Army participated in the relief efforts of the Great Sichuan earthquake under his leadership.
In 2009, Song was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Nanjing Military Region, succeeding lieutenant general Xu Chengyun (徐承云), who had retired. He attained the rank of lieutenant general in 2010. In July 2013, Song was appointed President of the PLA National Defence University, replacing Wang Xibin. In December 2014, he replaced lieutenant general Zhang Shibo as Commander of the Northern Theater Command , while Zhang took over Song's old position as President of the PLA National Defence University. It was considered an extraordinary move by paramount leader Xi Jinping, as Song is not a member of the 18th Central Committee, while most past commanders of the key Beijing MR, including Zhang Shibo, had been Central Committee members.
On 31 July 2015, Song Puxuan was promoted to general (shang jiang), the highest rank for Chinese military officers in active service.
Song was the Chief commander of 2015 military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan. On February 1, 2016, he was named commander of the re-organized Northern Theater Command.