Guo Gengmao, deputy secretary of Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was appointed acting governor of the northern province on Tuesday.

Guo, 56, was appointed at the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 10th Hebei Provincial People's Congress held in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

Guo, native of Jizhou city of Hebei, joined the CPC in 1972.

He is an alternate member of the 16th CPC Central Committee.

The session accepted the resignation of Ji Yunshi, Guo's predecessor. Ji was already appointed vice-minister of Personnel and head of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)