Beiyang government and warlords China China 1867–1931 ○ Died of illness

Diplomat who quit as foreign minister in protest at the Twenty-One Demands and twice headed the cabinet

Born in Qiantang, Hangzhou, he served the Qing as minister to France and Germany and became governor of Shandong in 1909. A supporter of constitutional government, he urged a cabinet system, and in 1911 he recognised Shandong’s independence, only to retract it and resign once Yuan Shikai had taken power. As foreign minister in Xiong Xiling’s cabinet from September 1913 he concluded the agreement with Russia that traded Chinese suzerainty over Outer Mongolia for Mongolian autonomy. He was acting premier from February to May 1914 and resigned as foreign minister in January 1915 in protest at Japan’s Twenty-One Demands. After holding economic posts he became premier again in January 1924 but resigned in July after friction with his finance minister. He retired to Dairen in 1928 and died of a chronic illness in 1931.

Also known as: Sun Pao-ch'i · Sun Pao-chi

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