Zhou Enlai

(1898-1976)
Born March 5, 1898 in the provincial town Huaian, Jiangsu Province. His grandfather belonged to the privileged class zhenshi - Scientists in the public service, and his father was a teacher (other sources - minor officials). In 1918, while studying at Nankai University in Tianjin, Zhou participated in student protests, for which he was sentenced to a year in prison. After leaving prison in 1920 went to Paris, where he organized a Communist cell in Chinese students. Traveled for several months in the UK, nearly a year studying in Germany. Upon returning to China in 1924, Zhou became an ardent supporter of Sun Yat-sen, who led the KMT and entered into an alliance with the Communists. Zhou was appointed head of the political department of the new military school in Whampoa, the head of this school was Chiang Kai-Shek. In 1925 Zhou married Deng Yingchao, whom he met six years before serving a prison. In 1927, Zhou Enlai, organized and carried out the seizure of Shanghai detachments of workers, but Chiang Kai-shek took the city under their control, and sentenced Zhou and other Communist leaders to the death. Zhou Enlai managed to escape by traveling first to Wuhan, and then to Nanchang, where he made a notable contribution to the organization of the uprising on Aug. 1, 1927. Zhou worked illegally until 1931, has not yet appeared in communist-controlled areas in the provinces of Jiangsu and Fujian, where he was appointed political commissar in the People's Army commander Zhu De.
Once logged in the history of the 'Long March' Chou to establishing a united front to fight the Japanese. When in December 1936, Chiang Kai-Shek, . consistently regarded as their main opponents are not Japanese, . and Communists, . was arrested by officers of the general nationalist Zhang Xue-liang, . Zhou Enlai led the delegation of the Communist, . saved the life of Chan and secured his release,
. When the united front has become a real force, Zhou became a military adviser to Chiang Kai-Shek. Nevertheless, relations between the KMT and the Communists remained difficult, and in 1941 split. Zhou Enlai went to work as a representative of the Communist Party in government in Chongqing and Nanjing before 1946. In the same year, led a delegation of the CPC at a peace conference on China organized Dzh.Marshallom. In 1948, Zhou was elected deputy chairman of the CPC in 1949 became a member of its secretariat. In the first government of the PRC, which began its work after the official proclamation of the republic on Oct. 1, 1949, Chou En-lai received the Prime Minister. The work of Prime Minister was accountable only to Mao Zedong, combined both positions of chairman of the CPC and chairman of the PRC. Zhou also held the posts of Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the Politburo and deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.

In 1950, as part of the Chinese delegation, Zhou Enlai traveled to Moscow for the signing of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. He headed the Chinese delegation at the Geneva Conference on Korea and Indochina. In 1958 he left his post as Minister of Foreign Affairs, but continued to occupy the post of head of government of the PRC. Since the 9 th Congress of the CPC in April 1969 Chou was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, 5 members of which actually ran the country. After the deposition and death, in 1971, Defense Minister Lin Biao, Mao Zedong which other successor, Zhou Enlai became the second after Mao figure in the political hierarchy in China. Zhou Enlai died in Beijing on Jan. 8, 1976.