Who’s the man leading the world largest country and a rising super power? Hu. No, I’m asking “who is the man?”. Hu is! But that’s what I’m asking….Who? Yes. Eat your heart out Abbot and Costello.

All jokes aside, many people are now trying to figure out who Hu really is. Known as a quiet and somewhat reserved man, Hu Jintao is almost as mysterious to the Chinese public as he is the rest of the world. However, after his visit to Washington last week and the expectation that he will step down and succeed power to Xi Jinping, China’s current VP, the picture of Mr. Hu is becoming clearer. Hu, we hardly knew you, but here’s a brief background on arguably the second most powerful man in the world.

His “Humble” Beginnings:

Hu Jintao was born on December 21st, 1942, in Taizhou, Jiangsu. Though his father owned a small tea trading business in Taizhou, the family was relatively poor. His mother died when he was seven, and he was raised by an aunt. Hu’s father was later denounced during the Cultural Revolution, an event that (together with his relatively humble origins) apparently had a deep effect upon Hu, who diligently tried to clear his father’s name.

Hu was a gifted student in high school, excelling in activities such as singing and dancing (which explains why many critics of Hu say he is all performance and no substance). In 1964, while still a student at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, Hu joined the Communist Party of China (CPC), before the Cultural Revolution. He was the chairman of Tsinghua Student Union at that time. He graduated in hydraulic engineering in 1965. At Tsinghua, Hu met a fellow student Liu Yongqing, now his wife. They have a son and a daughter named Hu Haifeng and Hu Haiqing respectively.

In 1974, Hu was transferred to the Construction Department of Gansu as a secretary. The next year he was promoted to vice senior chief. In 1980, Deng Xiaoping implemented the “Four Transformations” program, which aimed to produce communist leaders who were “more revolutionary, younger, more knowledgeable, and more specialized.”

On November 15th, 2002, a new Hu Jintao-led Politburo nominally succeeded the Jiang presidency. Hu also took over as Party General Secretary at the Sixteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, where with his premier, Wen Jiabao, proposed to set up a “Harmonious Society” which aims at lessening the inequality and changing the style of the “GDP first and Welfare Second” policies.

Later, at the 11th National People’s Congress, Hu was re-elected as President on 15 March 2008. He was also re-elected as Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

His role in CPC government:

Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People’s Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang Zemin as the top leader of fourth generation leadership of the Communist Party of China.

He is expected to abdicate his power sometime in the coming year (2012) to Xi Jinping in accordance with CPC expectations. While Hu has been somewhat uninvolved in military concerns, he has done a great deal to improve China’s diplomatic image on the world stage, while promoting peace, prosperity and continued economic development in the mainland.

Attitude and Policies:

Hu possesses a low-key and reserved leadership style. Chinese liberal intellectuals have given a nickname to each of the seven members of the Standing Committee of the party’s Politburo. Hu is labeled “孙子” (sūn zi).” In Chinese, it literally means “grandson,” but it is also the synonym for “yes-man” in colloquialism. The play on words speaks to Hu ascension of power, in which he was charged with menial tasks that previous President Jiang didn’t want to bother with. It was also seen as a way to give Hu more real world experience in politics and diplomacy, something that he lacked even when groomed to be the next leader of China.

His rise to the presidency represents China’s transition of leadership from old, establishment communists to younger, more pragmatic technocrats. Since his ascendancy, Hu has reinstated certain controls on the economy relaxed by the previous administration, and has been conservative in his attitude to political reforms. In foreign policy, Hu advocates for an approach termed “China’s peaceful development”, pursuing soft power in international relations. Along with his colleague, Premier Wen Jiabao, Hu presided over a nearly decade of consistent economic growth and development that cemented China as a major world power. Through Hu’s tenure, China’s global influence in Africa, Latin America, and other developing countries has increased