Historical Figure
Li Keqiang
1955–2023
Premier of China from 2013 to 2023
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Biography
Li Keqiang was a Chinese politician and economist who served as Premier of China from 2013 to 2023 and was the second-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Politburo Standing Committee from 2012 to 2022.
Timeline
The story of Li Keqiang, told in moments.
Entered Peking University after the college entrance exams were restored. Studied law. Became a student leader. Later earned a PhD in economics. One of the first Chinese leaders with a genuine academic background.
Rose through the Communist Youth League ranks. Became governor of Henan at 43, then party secretary. Faced criticism over a blood-selling HIV crisis in the province that infected thousands of poor farmers.
Became Premier of China. Second in the party hierarchy after Xi Jinping. Pushed market-oriented economic reforms and the "Li Keqiang Index," an alternative GDP measure using electricity consumption, rail freight, and bank lending.
Died of a sudden heart attack in Shanghai at 68. He'd retired as premier seven months earlier. His death prompted an outpouring of grief online. Many mourners were quietly comparing his reformist instincts to the current direction.
In Their Own Words (1)
Artifacts (15)
My head used to hang down, and I had to lift it with great effort.
utrition. "My arms were thin, my legs were spindly, and my stomach protruded in an ungainly manner" he wrote. "My head used to hang down, and I had to lift it with great effort." == Education in...
We lived without conflict as if our two souls were one.
== In 1943, Iyengar married 16-year-old Ramamani in a marriage that was arranged by their parents. He said of their marriage: "We lived without conflict as if our two souls were one." Together, they...
has by far had the most profound impact on the global spread of yoga.
Day" by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Anthropologist Joseph S. Alter of the University of Pittsburgh stated that Iyengar "has by far had the most profound impact on the global spread of...
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