Liu Shaoqi

1898 – 1969

Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary and statesman who served as President of the People's Republic of China from 1959 to 1968 and as first-ranking vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. A leading reformer credited with stabilizing China's economy after the disastrous Great Leap Forward famine, he was widely seen as Mao Zedong's likely successor before being purged during the Cultural Revolution. He was publicly denounced, beaten, and ultimately died in prison in 1969 from medical neglect, then posthumously rehabilitated in 1980 as the party reckoned with the era's abuses.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM