Li Peng

Li Peng (b. Oct. 1928). Prime Minister of China 1987–1998 Born in Chengdu as the son of an official of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When his father was executed by the Guomindang, he was adopted by Zhou Enlai. He joined the CCP in 1945. In 1948–55, he studied at the Institute for Energy Sciences in Moscow. Upon his return, he became a chief engineer at electricity works in north-east China, and in 1966 became responsible for the energy supply in Beijing. He survived the Cultural Revolution with his reputation relatively unharmed, and in 1981 became Minister for Electricity Supply. He joined the Central Committee of the CCP in 1982, and in 1985 became a member of the Politburo. Largely on account of his technical and industrial knowhow, he succeeded the reformist Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang. He supported Deng Xiaoping in the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and emphasized the party's conservative Maoist ideology in its attempts under Jiang Zemin to adapt to economic reform. He was succeeded by Zhu Rongji, but remained powerful as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.