Chinese former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing took the post of dean of Zhou Enlai School of Government at Tianjin-based Nankai University on Sunday, said sources with the university.

Li said he was delighted to work at prestigious Nankai University.

He served as a guest professor at the university in 1993. He will serve as the school dean for a four-year term.

Li, born in 1940 in Jiaonan County of Shandong Province, is a renowned diplomat and poet. He had acted as permanent representative of China to the US, Chinese ambassador to the US and foreign minister.

Nankai University, founded in 1919, is one of China's comprehensive universities, where many prominent figures including late Premier Zhou Enlai studied.

The Zhou Enlai School of Government, established in 2004, has five academic programs, namely political science, sociology, ethnic studies public administration and psychology.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)