Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko

President of Belarus Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko is paying a state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday. Lukashenko was born on Aug. 30, 1954 in the settlement of Kopys in northeastern Vitsebsk region of Belarus. He graduated from the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute in 1975 and the Belarusian Agricultural Academy in 1985. A teacher in his early life, Lukashenko served in the Border Guard from 1975 to 1977 and in the Soviet Army from 1980 to 1982. After leaving the military, he became a party chief of a collective farm in the 1980s. He was later promoted to director of the Gorodets state farm in Shklov district of Mogilev. In 1990, Lukashenko was elected as a deputy in the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus. In 1993, he was elected chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament. The new constitution enacted in early 1994 made possible the first democratic presidential election in Belarus. At the age of 40, Lukashenko became the first president in Belarusian history. He was reelected to the presidency in 2001, 2006 and 2010. Lukashenko has visited or attended activities in China for six times since assuming presidency. The Belarusian president likes ice hockey and skiing. He is married with three sons.