Li Peng

He served as Premier of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the State Council between 1987 and 1998 and is disliked by many for his role in the crackdown of the Tiananmen Square protests in June 1989.

Born in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. He joined the Communist Party in 1945, his father Li Shuoxun[?] was one of the earliest CPC members. He was killed in Hainan island by the Kuomintang when Li Peng was only three years old. Thus, Li was adopted by future Premier Zhou Enlai.

Li was educated as a technologist and specialised in power generation.

In the 1960s he moved into government. He was elected to the Central Committee and the Politburo in 1982 and was Vice-Premier of the PRC from 1983. He was made acting Premier in November 1987 and full Premier in April 1988. He remained Premier until 1998 when he was made head of the NPC. He was the only candidate and the vote for top officials is largely a formality and when Li had 200 votes against and 2,616 in favor it was actually a large number of dissenters. His spent most of his time as Premier to monitor his pet project, the Three Gorges Dam

Li, although retired, wants to retain his influence in the PSC. The current Politburo Standing Committee[?] member Luo Gan[?], is considered to be his protege.

See also: Politics of China