Li Jingxi

Beiyang government and warlords 1857–1925 ○ Died of illness

Li Hongzhang’s nephew, the last Qing viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou, whose cabinet was cut short by Zhang Xun’s restoration

A native of Hefei, Anhui, he was a nephew of Li Hongzhang. Under the Qing he was governor of Guangxi and Guizhou, and as viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou from 1909 he promoted industry, founded the Yunnan Military Academy and employed Japanese-trained officers such as Cai E and Tang Jiyao. Captured in the Kunming uprising of 1911, he was released on Cai E’s orders. In 1913 he drew close to Yuan Shikai and, as chairman of the Political Conference, proposed dissolving parliament, but broke with Yuan after the monarchy was proclaimed. Named premier after Li Yuanhong dismissed Duan Qirui in 1917, he took office on 25 June; when Zhang Xun restored Puyi on 1 July he fled Beijing the following night, making his the shortest regular cabinet of the Beijing government. He then left politics and died of illness in Shanghai in 1925.

Also known as: Li Ching-hsi