Lou Jiwei (born December 24, 1950, in Yiwu, Zhejiang) is a prominent Chinese politician and economist who has held key positions in China's financial and governmental sectors. He began his career in economic research, working at the Cost and Price Office, the Institute of Finance and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Financial and Banking Group of the Research Center of the General Office of the State Council. He later served as Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Office for Economic Reform and Director-General of the State Commission for Economic Reform. From 1995 to 1998, he was Vice-Governor of Guizhou Province, followed by Vice Minister of Finance from 1998 to 2007 and Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council in 2007. Lou Jiwei rose to international prominence as Chairman, Party Secretary, and CEO of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), China's sovereign wealth fund, from September 2007 to March 2013. He then served as Minister of Finance from March 2013 to November 2016 under Premier Li Keqiang, and as Chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund from November 2016 to April 2019. Currently, he is the director of the 13th CPPCC Foreign Affairs Committee. A member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Lou has been recognized globally, listed in Time's 100 Most Influential People (2008), Forbes' Powerful People (30th, 2010), Bloomberg Markets' 50 Most Influential (2011), and aiCIO's 100 Most Influential Institutional Investors (12th, 2012). He is a key figure in China's sovereign wealth management and global investment strategy.