Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai
周恩来
Official portrait, 1950s
1st Premier of the People's Republic of China
In office 1 October 1949 – 8 January 1976
1st vice-premier	Dong Biwu Chen Yun Lin Biao Deng Xiaoping
Preceded by	Mao Zedong (as Chairman of the People's Central Government of People's Republic of China) Himself (as Premier of Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government)
Succeeded by	Hua Guofeng
1st Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
In office 1 October 1949 – 11 February 1958
Premier	Himself
Preceded by	Hu Shih (as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China)
Succeeded by	Chen Yi
First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
In office 30 August 1973 – 8 January 1976
Chairman	Mao Zedong
Preceded by	Lin Biao (1971)
Succeeded by	Hua Guofeng
Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
In office 28 September 1956 – 1 August 1966
Chairman	Mao Zedong
2nd Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office December 1954 – 8 January 1976
Honorary Chairman	Mao Zedong
Preceded by	Mao Zedong
Succeeded by	Vacant (1976–1978) Deng Xiaoping
Succeeded by	Himself (as Premier of the People's Republic of China)
Personal details
Born	(1898-03-05)5 March 1898 Huai'an, Jiangsu, Qing Empire
Died	8 January 1976(1976-01-08) (aged 77) Beijing, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (1921–1976)
Other political affiliations	Kuomintang (1923–1927)
Spouse	Deng Yingchao ​ (m. 1925)​
Children	Sun Weishi, Wang Shu (both adopted)[1][2]
Education	Nankai Middle School
Alma mater	Nankai University
Signature
Website	zhouenlai.people.cn
Military service
Branch/service	National Revolutionary Army (1937–1945) Chinese Red Army People's Liberation Army
Rank	Lieutenant General of the National Revolutionary Army
Battles/wars	Northern Expeditions Nanchang Uprising Encirclement Campaigns Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War
Zhou Enlai's voice Zhou during an interview with CBS Recorded 1965

Zhou Enlai (Chinese: 周恩来; pinyin: Zhōu Ēnlái; Wade–Giles: Chou¹ Ên¹-lai²; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 until his death in January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Mao Zedong and aided the Communist Party in rising to power, later helping consolidate its control, form its foreign policy, and develop the Chinese economy.

As a diplomat, Zhou served as the Chinese foreign minister from 1949 to 1958. Advocating peaceful coexistence with the West after the Korean War, he participated in the 1954 Geneva Conference and the 1955 Bandung Conference and helped orchestrate Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. He helped devise policies regarding disputes with the United States, Taiwan, the Soviet Union (after 1960), India, Korea, and Vietnam.

Zhou survived the purges of other top officials during the Cultural Revolution. While Mao dedicated most of his later years to political struggle and ideological work, Zhou was one of the main driving forces behind the affairs of state during much of the Cultural Revolution. His attempts at mitigating the Red Guards' damage and his efforts to protect others from their wrath made him immensely popular in the Cultural Revolution's later stages.

Mao's health began to decline in 1971, and Lin Biao fell into disgrace and later died in a plane crash. Amid these events, Zhou was elected to the vacant position of First Vice Chairman of the Communist Party by the 10th Central Committee in 1973 and thereby designated as Mao's successor (the third person to be so designated after Liu Shaoqi and Lin Biao), but still struggled internally against the Gang of Four over leadership of China. His last major public appearance was at the first meeting of the 4th National People's Congress on 13 January 1975, where he presented the government work report. He then fell out of the public eye for medical treatment and died one year later. The massive public outpouring of grief which his death provoked in Beijing turned to anger at the Gang of Four, leading to the 1976 Tiananmen Incident. Although Zhou was succeeded by Hua Guofeng as First Vice Chairman and designated successor, Zhou's ally Deng Xiaoping was able to outmaneuver the Gang of Four politically and took Hua's place as paramount leader by 1978.