Ulanhu

Ulanhu (born 1906, Suiyuan province, near what is now Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China—died December 8, 1988, Beijing, China) was a Mongol nationalist and Chinese politician who was a highly visible promoter of Mongolian rights throughout his life.

Ulanhu was educated at the Mongolian Tibetan school in Beijing. In 1925, mentored by Li Dazhao, Ulanhu joined the Chinese Communist Party and took part in the first Congress of the People’s Revolutionary Council of Inner Mongolia. Ulanhu was educated in China and the Soviet Union. At first he was dedicated to Inner Mongolian independence from Nationalist-ruled China. He later fought against the Japanese occupation of Inner Mongolia; sought improved relations with Outer Mongolia, the Mongolian People’s Republic; and conducted underground work for the Chinese Communist Party. After the communist victory in 1949, Ulanhu held a series of posts in the central government, but in 1967, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, he was branded a “ruler in an independent kingdom" and was stripped of office. After his rehabilitation in 1973, Ulanhu served on the party Central Committee and in the Political Bureau. From 1975 until his retirement in 1987, he was one of 18 deputy chairmen in the Chinese legislature, the National People’s Congress.