Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling | |
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宋庆龄 | |
![]() Soong in the 1940s | |
Honorary Chairwoman of the People's Republic of China | |
In office 16 May 1981 – 29 May 1981 | |
Appointed by | the Standing Committee of the 5th National People's Congress on 16 May 1981 |
Premier | Zhao Ziyang |
Vice Chairwoman of the People's Republic of China | |
In office 27 April 1959 – 17 January 1975 Serving with Dong Biwu | |
President | Liu Shaoqi Vacant (after 1968) |
Preceded by | Zhu De |
Succeeded by | Ulanhu (1983) |
Acting Chairwoman of the People's Republic of China | |
In office 31 October 1968 – 24 February 1972 | |
Premier | Zhou Enlai |
Preceded by | Liu Shaoqi (as Chairman) |
Succeeded by | Dong Biwu (as Acting Chairman) |
Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |
In office 17 January 1975 – 29 May 1981 | |
Chairman | Zhu De Vacant[nb] Ye Jianying |
In office 27 September 1954 – 28 April 1959 | |
Chairman | Liu Shaoqi |
Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference | |
In office 25 December 1954 – 29 April 1959 | |
Chairman | Zhou Enlai |
Vice Chairperson of the Central People's Government | |
In office 1 October 1949 – 27 September 1954 | |
Chairman | Mao Zedong |
Personal details | |
Born | Shanghai International Settlement | 27 January 1893
Died | 29 May 1981 Beijing, China | (aged 88)
Political party | Chinese Communist Party (1981) |
Other political affiliations | Kuomintang (1919–1947) Communist International (1930s–1943) Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (1948–1981) |
Spouse | |
Parent(s) | Charlie Soong and Ni Kwei-tseng |
Relatives | Soong Mei-ling (sister) Chiang Kai-shek (brother-in-law) Soong Ai-ling (sister) |
Alma mater | Wesleyan College |
Signature | ![]() |
n.b. ^ Between 1976 and 1978, Soong presided over the meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and performed its powers as head of state in her capacity as the NPCSC First Vice Chairperson. | |
Soong Ching-ling | |||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 宋慶齡 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 宋庆龄 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. She was a member of the Soong family and, together with her siblings, played a prominent role in China's politics. After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, she held several prominent positions in the new government, including Vice Chairman of the PRC (1949–1954; 1959–1975) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (1954–1959; 1975–1981). She traveled abroad during the early 1950s, representing her country at a number of international events.
During the Cultural Revolution, however, she was heavily criticized.[1] Following the purge of President Liu Shaoqi in 1968, she and Dong Biwu as Vice Presidents became de facto Heads of State of China until 1972,[2] when Dong was appointed Acting President. Soong survived the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolution but appeared less frequently after 1976. As the acting Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1976 to 1978, Soong was again the acting Head of State, as the office of President had been abolished. During her final illness in May 1981, she was given the special title of "Honorary President of the People's Republic of China".