Liu Shaoqi

2nd President of the People's Republic of China (1898–1969)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Liu.

Liu Shaoqi (pronounced [ljǒu ʂâutɕʰǐ]; traditional Chinese: 劉少奇; simplified Chinese: 刘少奇; 24 November 1898 – 12 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist.

Liu Shaoqi
劉少奇/刘少奇
President of the People's Republic of China
In office
27 April 1959 – 31 October 1968
PremierZhou Enlai
Vice PresidentDong Biwu and Soong Ching-ling
LeaderMao Zedong (Chairman of the Communist Party of China)
Preceded byMao Zedong
Succeeded byDong Biwu and Soong Ching-ling (acting)
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In office
September 15, 1954 – April 28, 1959
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byZhu De
First Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China
In office
28 September 1956 – 1 August 1966
ChairmanMao Zedong
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLin Biao
Member of the National People's Congress
In office
15 September 1954 – 21 October 1968
ConstituencyBeijing At-large
Personal details
Born(1898-11-24)24 November 1898
Ningxiang, Hunan, Qing Empire
Died12 November 1969(1969-11-12) (aged 70)
Kaifeng, Henan, People’s Republic of China
NationalityChinese
Political partyCommunist Party of China (1921-1968)
Spouse(s)
  • Zhou
  • He Baozhen
    (m. 1923; died 1934)
  • Xie Fei
    (m. 1935; div. 1940)
  • Wang Qian
    (m. 1942; div. 1943)
  • Wang Jian
  • (m. 1948⁠–⁠1969)
ChildrenLiu Yunbin
Liu Aiqin
Liu Yunruo
Liu Tao
Liu Ding
Liu Pingping
Liu Yuan
Liu Tingting
Liu Xiaoxiao

He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1956 to 1966 and Chairman (President) of the People's Republic of China, China's de jure head of state, from 1959 to 1968.

For 15 years, President Liu was the third most powerful man in China, behind only Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. In the early 1960s before the Cultural Revolution, he became a critic of Mao.

Liu disappeared from public life in 1968 and was called the "commander of China's bourgeoisie headquarters", China's foremost "capitalist-roader", and a traitor to the revolution.

Liu died on 12 November 1969 in Kaifeng, Henan while under torture, aged 70. After his death, the Chinese government later honored him with a state funeral and is now seen as a political hero.[1]

References

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  1. "Xi's speech commemorating 120th anniversary of Liu Shaoqi's birth published". People's Daily. December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.