XI'AN - Lou Qinjian was elected governor of northwest China's Shaanxi Province Thursday at the first session of the 12th Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress, the local legislative body.

Lou, with a doctorate in computer science, worked at research institutes, an IT company, and the government's information industry ?earlier in his career.

He served as a deputy minister of industry and information technology from 2008 to 2010 before being transferred to Shaanxi to serve as vice governor.

He was appointed by the provincial legislature as acting governor of Shaanxi in December last year.

At the same session, Zhao Zhengyong, secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was elected chairman of the Standing Committee of Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress.