Jang Song Thaek Had Been North Korea's No. The execution of leader Kim Jong Un's uncle marks the unprecedented fall from grace of one of the most powerful figures in North Korea and the most serious political upheaval in the country in decades. Jang Song Thaek, a native of the far northeastern border city of Chongjin who hailed from humble roots but was sharp enough to gain entry to prestigious Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, rose from municipal bureaucrat to vice chairman of the National Defense Commission and member of the Political Bureau - posts that put him in second in power only to Kim. A well-traveled diplomat with a network that spread to China, Jang was considered the chief architect of economic policy that focused on partnering with the neighbor and ally. His ties to Kim were more than political: Jang was married to the leader's aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, and in late 2008, he was assumed to be serving in a regency role while the young heir, then in his late 20s, was being groomed to succeed father Kim Jong Il. Jang often accompanied Kim Jong Un on guidance trips, and stood at his elbow at public events. Rumors of Jang's dismissal began surfacing in Seoul last week. On Sunday, he was fired from all posts at a special party meeting and dragged away by the arms by soldiers. Four days after his dramatic public arrest, Jang was tried for treason by a special military tribunal and executed Thursday, state media reported Friday. He was 67. The list of crimes against Jang was long, with plotting to overthrow the leadership the most serious of the allegations. Jang confessed, according to state media. For the outside world, the 2,700-word treatise ripping Jang's reputation to shreds provided an intriguing and revealing glimpse into the murky, feudalistic world of politics in the secretive country. For North Koreans, the shocking public humiliation of a man seen as a father figure to Kim Jong Un was designed to send a clear message about the intolerance of opposition in a totalitarian state that demands absolute loyalty to the leader. It was a humiliating end to a complicated career. Jang started his career as instructor for the Pyongyang City Committee of the Workers' Party, and he rose post by post until reaching the top ranks. He was purged and sent to a labor camp for two years in the mid-2000s, according to Kim Young-soo, a North Korea expert at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. That purge was widely seen as a move to clip his wings. It was after Kim Jong Il's stroke in 2008 as the regime began grooming Kim Jong Un to succeed him that Jang began making a meteoric rise to the inner circle. That rise gained speed after Kim Jong Il's death from a heart attack in December 2011. Jang was not a career military man but was made a four-star general, and often appeared at state events in a trim white general's uniform. He was appointed director of the Administration Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, a position that gave him power over security agencies as well as the judiciary And as a standing member of the Political Bureau, he helped engineer a campaign to bring the once-powerful military into the party's fold. Jang also played a key role in shaping economic policy in the impoverished country, particularly expanding joint ventures with foreign countries, particularly China. Under Kim, the regime has made improving the economy a main party objective, along with building nuclear weapons.