Li Peng

Li Peng
李鹏
Li in 1996
Premier of China
In office 25 March 1988 – 17 March 1998 Acting: 24 November 1987 – 25 March 1988
President	Yang Shangkun Jiang Zemin
Vice Premier	Cabinet I (1988–93) Yao Yilin Tian Jiyun Wu Xueqian Zou Jiahua Zhu Rongji Cabinet II (1993–98) Zhu Rongji Zou Jiahua Qian Qichen Li Lanqing Wu Bangguo Jiang Chunyun
Leader	Deng Xiaoping Jiang Zemin
Preceded by	Zhao Ziyang
Succeeded by	Zhu Rongji
7th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In office 16 March 1998 – 15 March 2003
Leader	Jiang Zemin (Paramount leader)
Preceded by	Qiao Shi
Succeeded by	Wu Bangguo
Vice Premier of China
In office 6 June 1983 – 24 November 1987 Serving with Wan Li, Yao Yilin, Tian Jiyun
Premier	Zhao Ziyang
Personal details
Born	(1928-10-20)20 October 1928 Shanghai French Concession
Died	(2019-07-22)22 July 2019 (aged 90) Beijing, China
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (joined in 1945)
Spouse	Zhu Lin ​ (m. 1958)​ [1]
Children	Li Xiaopeng (son) Li Xiaolin (daughter) Li Xiaoyong (son)
Parent(s)	Li Shuoxun (father) Zhao Juntao [zh] (mother)[1]
Relatives	Li Ye (granddaughter) Liu Shiran [grandchild of Gu Mu] (grandson-in-law) Tang Wen [great-grandchild of Tang Shaoyi] (daughter-in-law)
Alma mater	Moscow Power Engineering Institute
Profession	Politician Hydroelectric engineer
Li Peng's voice Recorded Oct 31, 1994
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	李鹏
Traditional Chinese	李鵬
Literal meaning	Li (surname 李) Peng (giant bird in Chinese mythology)
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Péng Wade–Giles Li3 P'eng2 IPA [lì pʰə̌ŋ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lei5 Paang4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lí Pîng

Li Peng (Chinese: 李鹏; pinyin: Lǐ Péng; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hierarchy behind then CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin. He retained his seat on the CCP Politburo Standing Committee until his retirement in 2002.

Li was the son of an early Communist revolutionary, Li Shuoxun, who was executed by the Kuomintang. After meeting Zhou Enlai in Sichuan, Li was raised by Zhou and his wife, Deng Yingchao. Li trained to be an engineer in the Soviet Union and worked at an important national power company after returning to China. He escaped the political turmoil of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s due to his political connections and his employment in the company. After Deng Xiaoping became China's leader in the late 1970s, Li took a number of increasingly important and powerful political positions, eventually becoming premier in 1987.

As Premier, Li was the most visible representative of China's government who backed the use of force to quell the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. During the demonstrations, Li used his authority as premier to declare martial law and, in cooperation with Deng, who was the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, declared military law and the suppression of the 1989 Tiananmen square protestors, ultimately resulting in a massacre.

Li advocated a largely conservative approach to Chinese economic reform, which placed him at odds with CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who fell out of favour in 1989. After Zhao was removed from office, Li promoted a conservative socialist economic agenda but lost influence to incoming vice premier Zhu Rongji, and was unable to prevent the increasing market liberalization of the Chinese economy. During his time in office, he helmed the controversial Three Gorges Dam project. He and his family managed a large Chinese power monopoly, which the Chinese government broke up after his term as premier expired. Li died at the age of 90 in Beijing.