Duan Qirui

Duan Qirui
段祺瑞
Duan in 1913
Chief Executive of the Republic of China
In office 24 November 1924 – 20 April 1926
Premier	Xu Shiying Jia Deyao
Preceded by	Huang Fu (acting)
Succeeded by	Hu Weide (acting)
Premier of the Republic of China
In office 23 March 1918 – 10 October 1918
President	Feng Guozhang (acting)
Preceded by	Qian Nengxun
Succeeded by	Qian Nengxun
In office 14 July 1917 – 22 November 1917
President	Feng Guozhang (acting)
Preceded by	Li Jingxi
Succeeded by	Wang Daxie (acting)
In office 26 June 1916 – 23 May 1917
President	Li Yuanhong
Preceded by	Xu Shichang
Succeeded by	Wu Tingfang (acting)
Acting Premier of the Republic of China
In office 19 July 1913 – 31 July 1913
President	Yuan Shikai
Preceded by	Zhao Bingjun
Succeeded by	Xiong Xiling
Minister of War of the Republic of China
In office 1912–1915
Premier	Tang Shaoyi Lu Zhengxiang Zhao Bingjun Himself (acting) Xiong Xiling Sun Baoqi (acting) Xu Shichang
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Zhou Ziqi
Personal details
Born	(1865-03-06)March 6, 1865 Hefei, Anhui, Qing Dynasty
Died	November 2, 1936(1936-11-02) (aged 71) Shanghai, Republic of China
Nationality	Chinese
Political party	Anhui clique
Children	4 daughters
Education	Tianjin Military Academy
Occupation	Military officer, statesman
Awards	Order of Rank and Merit Order of the Precious Brilliant Golden Grain Order of Wen-Hu
Military service
Allegiance	Qing Dynasty Republic of China Anhui clique
Branch/service	Beiyang Army Anhui clique
Rank	General
Commands	Anhui clique
Battles/wars	Boxer Rebellion Xinhai Revolution Second Revolution Bai Lang Rebellion Manchu Restoration Constitutional Protection Movement Zhili-Anhui War

Duan Qirui (Chinese: 段祺瑞; pinyin: Duàn Qíruì; Wade–Giles: Tuan Ch'i-jui, pronounced [twân tɕʰǐ.ɻwêɪ]) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord, politician and commander of the Beiyang Army who ruled as the effective dictator of northern China in the late 1910s. He was the Premier of the Republic of China on four occasions between 1913 and 1918, and from 1924 to 1926 he served as acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China in Beijing.

A graduate of the Tianjin Military Academy, Duan studied military science in Germany and became a prominent artillery commander under Yuan Shikai. Following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 and the fall of the Qing dynasty, he became minister of war and premier in the Yuan cabinet. He opposed Yuan's restoration of monarchy in China and, upon Yuan's death, continued as premier and took effective control of northern China. His tenure was marked by political infighting as well as conflict with southern parliamentarians under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen.

In 1917, Duan took part in suppressing another attempt to restore the monarchy, and spearheaded China's involvement in the First World War on the side of the Allies. He also negotiated a series of loans with Japan, with which he built up the Anhui clique and prepared for a conquest of the south. His secret dealings with the Japanese (including the 1918 Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement) later came to light which, along with the Treaty of Versailles's decision to transfer Shandong to Japan, paved way for the May Fourth Movement in 1919. His position weakened, Duan was eventually ousted from power after his defeat in the 1920 Zhili–Anhui War. He came out of retirement in 1924 to head Zhang Zuolin and Feng Yuxiang's Beiyang government, but was again deposed after Zhang's victory over Feng in the Anti-Fengtian War. Duan subsequently retired to Tianjin before settling in Shanghai, where he died in 1936.