Yuan Baohua (; 13 January 1916 – 9 May 2019) was a Chinese economic official and academic administrator. He served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Metallurgy Industry, Minister of the Ministry of Materials, Executive Vice Director of the State Planning Commission, and Director of the State Economic Commission. From 1985 to 1991, he served as President of

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC; ) is a national key public research university in Beijing, China. The university is affiliated to the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. RUC ...

. He was a mentor of

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji (; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1998 to 2003 and CCP Politburo Standing Committee member from 1992 to 2002 along with the Chinese Communist ...

, the former Premier of China.

Republic of China

Yuan was born on 13 January 1916 in

Nanzhao County Nanzhao County () is a CPRC, county under the jurisdiction of Nanyang, Henan, Nanyang City, in the southwest of Henan province, China, has an area of and a population of 600,000 as of 2002. Administrative divisions As 2012, this county is divid ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, Republic of China. He entered

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

in 1934 to study

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, later transferring to

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

. In 1935, he participated in the December 9th student protests against Japanese aggression in North China. He joined the

Communist Youth League The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...

in April 1936, and the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP) in September. When Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937, Yuan returned to his hometown to organize anti-Japanese resistance. In 1940, he moved to the CCP headquarters at

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...

to study at the CCP Central Party School. The next year, he was assigned to the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

in 1945, Yuan was transferred to the formerly Japanese-occupied

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

, where he served as party secretary of

Tao'an County Taonan (), formerly Tao'an County (), is a county-level city of 100,000 in the northwest of Jilin province in Northeast China. It is under the administration of Baicheng prefecture-level city. Administrative Divisions There are 6 subdistricts, ...

and later youth secretary of

Nenjiang Province Nunkiang, () was a province in Northeast China, which was established in 1945. It was c.26,000 sq mi/67,340 km² large and the provincial capital was Qiqihar. The province was abolished in 1950 and incorporated with Heilongjiang Heilongj ...

People's Republic of China

After the founding of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1949, Yuan served as Secretary of the Ministry of Industry of Northeast China and Director of the ministry's Planning Department. In 1951,

, then a new university graduate, was assigned to work in Yuan's department. Zhu, who eventually rose to become Premier of China, later called Yuan his best mentor. Yuan was later transferred to the central government in Beijing to serve as a bureau chief in the Ministry of Heavy Industry. He was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Metallurgy Industry, Minister of the Ministry of Materials, Executive Vice Director of the State Planning Commission, and Director of the State Economic Commission. He was elected an alternate member of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a full member of the 12th Central Committee. At the

13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing from 25 October to 1 November 1987. It was preceded by the 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. It was succeeded by ...

in 1987, he was elected a member of the Second

Central Advisory Commission The Central Advisory Commission () (CAC) was a body of the Chinese Communist Party that existed during the era of the paramount leadership of Deng Xiaoping. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the Party' ...

. From June 1985 to December 1991, Yuan served as President of

. During his tenure, he established the economic management and administrative management programs at the university. He advocated for and led the establishment of Chinese Academy of Governance for professional training of government officials. He also advocated for the establishment of

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

programs in Chinese universities. Yuan wrote many books and articles in a career spanning five decades. In May 2015, his writings were published in the 10-volume ''Collected Works of Yuan Baohua'' (袁宝华文集). Zhu Rongji wrote the preface for the collection and came out of his retirement to promote its publication. On 9 May 2019, Yuan died in Beijing at the age of 103.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuan, Baohua 1916 births 2019 deaths Presidents of Renmin University of China Politicians from Nanyang, Henan Chinese centenarians Men centenarians People's Republic of China politicians from Henan Peking University alumni Government ministers of the People's Republic of China Alternate members of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party