Wang Jun was elected as the governor of Shanxi Province Thursday by the local legislature.

Wang, 56, was elected at the second session of the 11th Provincial People's Congress.

Born in Shanxi in March 1952, Wang holds a master's degree on philosophy from the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He became a CPC member in 1977.

Wang served as the acting and deputy governor of the coal-rich province in north China since mid-September last year when Meng Xuenong resigned from the post of governor in the wake of the deadly mud-rock flow that had killed at least 277 people.

Wang was appointed the head and party chief of the State Administration of Work Safety in March last year.

Earlier in his career, he worked as the deputy head of China's coal industry authority, deputy governor and deputy party chief of Jiangxi Province.

The provincial legislature's Thursday session also elected Liu Weijia and Zhang Jianxin as the deputy governors.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2009)