Lu was born in Chaohu, Anhui in January 1960. In 1991, Lu worked in Xinhua News Agency of Guangxi province as the Deputy Director, he was promoted to become the Director in 1997. From 2001 to 2004, he rose through the ranks to become Deputy Director of Xinhua News Agency. In March 2011, Lu was appointed as the Vice-Mayor of Beijing, the Minister of Beijing Propaganda Department and a Standing Committee member of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, he remained in that positions until April 2013, when he was appointed the Chairman of State Internet Information Office, the Vice-Chairman of State Council Information Office. In August 2013, Lu convened a meeting to publicize the Chinese Dream, which was described by Chinese Communist Party General SecretaryXi Jinping, Charles Xue, Ji Lianhai, Pan Shiyi, Xu Shiping, Qi Xiangdong, Xu Xiaoping, Li Weining, Chen Li, Liao Hong, Gu Yongqiang, Chen Tong, Sun Jian, Hu Yanping, Gao Long, and Zhang Guoqing were invited to attend the meeting. Lu visited the United States during the first week of December 2014. In Washington, D.C. he conferred with senior administration officials such as the National Security Council about issues such as alleged Chinese hacking activities and censorship. In Silicon Valley he was greeted warmly by the top management of major firms such as Apple, Facebook, and eBay. Lu stepped down from his post at the Cyberspace Administration of China in June 2016, for unknown reasons. His departure was somewhat shocking because he had become a very visible member of Xi Jinping's inner circle. While Lu remained a deputy head of the propaganda department, he relinquished all other titles of import. Foreign media speculated that this might signal a shift inChinese internet policy. Lu was placed under investigation for corruption in November 2017, and he is the first official of provincial rank to be investigated for corruption following the 19th Party Congress. He was expelled from the Communist Party in February 2018. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Lu was “arbitrary and tyrannical”, abused his power for personal gain and pretended to follow the rules. Other offences included using all means to build personal fame, making false and anonymous accusations against others, deceiving the top Communist leadership, extreme disloyalty, duplicity, trading power for sex, improper discussion of the party and a lack of self-control. On October 19, 2018, the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court heard Lu Wei's bribery case. He took advantage of his position to seek benefit for others and accepted a large sum of money. Lu has been accused of bribing about 32 million yuan. He pleaded guilty to corruption in October.On March 26, 2019, Lu was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined three million yuan.
