17 Facts About Ulanhu

Ulanhu or Ulanfu, born Yun Ze, was the founding Chairman of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, serving from 1947 to 1966.

Ulanhu was purged during the Cultural Revolution but later reinstated.

Ulanhu was the highest-ranking minority official in PRC history, and became an icon of loyalty both to the Mongolian people and to the PRC.

Ulanhu went to elementary school in his hometown, and went on to study at the Mongolian-Tibetan College of Beiping.

Ulanhu joined the Socialist Youth League of China in 1924, intending to become communist revolutionary.

In Moscow, Ulanhu shared a desk with Chiang Ching-kuo, the son of Chiang Kai-shek.

In 1929, when he returned from his studies, Ulanhu began organizing communist rallies in Mongolia, and was appointed a Committee Member of the CCP's West-Mongolia Working Committee.

In 1931, Ulanhu was chosen to run the military and intelligence offices in Mongolia, serving in Ikh Juu League.

Ulanhu was instrumental in bringing Inner Mongolia under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and was elected the Acting Governor and founding Chairman of the Autonomous Government of Inner Mongolia in 1947.

Ulanhu served as Party Committee Secretary and regional government chairman of Inner Mongolia from the region's founding to 1966.

Ulanhu used troops at his disposal to repel them, only to be later undone by military forces sent in by leftist leaders in Beijing, ousting him from office.

Ulanhu was accused of "ruling Inner Mongolia like an independent kingdom", and persecuted as a suspected member of the independence-leaning Inner Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, a charge later proven to be false.

However, while he was a target for struggle, Ulanhu survived the Cultural Revolution without enduring some of the more severe physical hardships inflicted upon some of his colleagues, largely owing to the support of Premier Zhou Enlai.

Ulanhu was politically rehabilitated in 1973, prior to the 10th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, with the personal blessing of Mao Zedong.

In 1977, Ulanhu became head of the United Front Work Department of the central organization of the CCP.

Ulanhu's Selected Works were published in 1999 at a dedication ceremony attended by Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Ulanhu married twice and had four sons and four daughters.