Political Leaders in Beijing

The atlas holds 17 people and 39 moments here, from 215 BC to 2023. The most recorded lives are Empress Dowager Cixi, Mao Zedong and Li Keqiang.

Notable people

1. Empress Dowager Cixi

   from 1835 to 1908

   10 moments here

   Empress Dowager Cixi (Yehe Nara Xingzhen) was a Manchu noblewoman who exercised decisive power in the Qing government as empress dowager and regent…

2. Mao Zedong

   from 1919 to 1976

   7 moments here

   Chinese communist revolutionary and political leader who led the Chinese Communist Party and founded the People’s Republic of China.…

3. Li Keqiang

   from 1978 to 2013

   6 moments here

   Chinese politician and economist who rose from rural labour in Anhui through the Communist Youth League, led Henan and Liaoning, served as vice…

4. Shinzo Abe

   from 2006 to 2018

   3 moments here

   Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020.…

5. Ronald Reagan

   in 1984

   1 moment here

   American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…

6. Nelson Mandela

   in 1999

   1 moment here

   South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…

7. Marco Polo

   in 1275

   1 moment here

   Venetian merchant, traveler, and author whose account describes journeys across Asia between 1271 and 1295.…

8. Margaret Thatcher

   in 1984

   1 moment here

   British stateswoman Margaret Hilda Thatcher (née Roberts) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the…

9. Mikhail Gorbachev

   in 1989

   1 moment here

   Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…

10. George H. W. Bush

    in 1989

    1 moment here

    George Herbert Walker Bush was an American naval aviator, oil executive, congressman, diplomat, director of central intelligence, vice president, and…

11. Qin Shi Huang

    in 215 BC

    1 moment here

    Born Zhao Zheng at Handan, he became king of Qin as a child, completed the conquest of the rival Warring States, and proclaimed himself China’s First…

12. Jawaharlal Nehru

    in 1939

    1 moment here

    Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and statesman who became independent India’s first prime minister, serving from 15 August 1947 until his…

13. Hugo Chávez

    in 1999

    1 moment here

    Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan army officer and politician who led the failed February 1992 coup attempt, became president of Venezuela in…

14. Zheng He

    in 1399

    1 moment here

    Zheng He (born Ma He) was a Ming Chinese admiral and diplomat who commanded seven state-sponsored voyages across the South China Sea and Indian…

15. Ho Chi Minh

    in 1957

    1 moment here

    Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung, who led the Việt Minh, proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, and…

16. Benazir Bhutto

    in 1995

    1 moment here

    Pakistani political leader who served twice as prime minister, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.…

17. Ebrahim Raisi

    in 2023

    1 moment here

    Iranian cleric, judicial official, and politician who served as president of Iran from 2021 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2024.…

Moments

1. 215 BC Visits ancient Ji Qin Shi Huang
2. 1275 Accompanies Kublai to Khanbaliq Marco Polo
3. 1399 Defense of Zhenglunba reservoir Zheng He
4. 1835 Birth in Beijing Empress Dowager Cixi
5. 1852 Entry into the Forbidden City Empress Dowager Cixi
6. 1856 Birth of Zaichun at the imperial palace Empress Dowager Cixi
7. 1861 Residence at Chuxiu Palace Empress Dowager Cixi
8. 1861 Return to Beijing during the Xinyou Coup Empress Dowager Cixi
9. 1861 Regency from the Hall of Mental Cultivation Empress Dowager Cixi
10. 1889 Retirement residence at the Summer Palace Empress Dowager Cixi
11. 1894 Sixtieth-birthday commemoration Empress Dowager Cixi
12. 1902 Ceremonious return to Beijing Empress Dowager Cixi
13. 1908 Death at the Hall of Graceful Bird Empress Dowager Cixi
14. 1919 Return to Beijing Mao Zedong
15. 1939 Visit to China before World War II Jawaharlal Nehru
16. 1949 Proclamation of the People's Republic Mao Zedong
17. 1957 Mao–Khrushchev state visit Mao Zedong
18. 1957 Stop in Beijing Ho Chi Minh
19. 1966 Red Guard public appearance Mao Zedong
20. 1972 Meeting with President Nixon Mao Zedong
21. 1975 Meeting with President Ford Mao Zedong
22. 1976 Death in Beijing Mao Zedong
23. 1978 Law studies at Peking University Li Keqiang
24. 1982 Communist Youth League secretary at Peking University Li Keqiang
25. 1984 Visits Beijing Ronald Reagan
26. 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration Margaret Thatcher
27. 1988 Economics graduate studies at Peking University Li Keqiang
28. 1989 Meetings in Beijing George H. W. Bush
29. 1989 Sino-Soviet Summit Mikhail Gorbachev
30. 1993 First secretary of the Communist Youth League Li Keqiang
31. 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women Benazir Bhutto
32. 1999 Pays official visit to Beijing Nelson Mandela
33. 1999 First presidential tour of China Hugo Chávez
34. 2006 Japan-China summit Shinzo Abe
35. 2008 Vice premier appointment Li Keqiang
36. 2013 Appointment as premier Li Keqiang
37. 2014 APEC summit and Xi Jinping meeting Shinzo Abe
38. 2018 Beijing meetings with Xi Jinping Shinzo Abe
39. 2023 Meeting with Xi Jinping Ebrahim Raisi

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