Wu Jianmin (; March 30, 1939 – June 18, 2016) was a prominent Chinese diplomat. He worked as the spokesman of

Chinese Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...

, ambassador of China to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and the president of the Bureau International des Expositions. Wu was born in Chongqing, where his parents, natives of

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, found refuge amidst the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. When Wu was seven years old, his family returned to Nanjing. He attended Nanjing No.2 Middle School and went on to the

Beijing Foreign Languages Institute Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ), is a public university in Beijing, China. BFSU boasts the oldest language programs in China offering the largest number of foreign language majors on different educational levels. Located in Haidia ...

(now Beijing Foreign Studies University) where he graduated in 1959, majoring in French. Upon graduation, he was chosen to work for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, where he served as an interpreter for former Chinese leaders including

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

and

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

. Wu had a distinguished career as a diplomat. He worked at the Chinese mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in New York in the 1970s. He became the spokesman of

in 1991. From 1994 to 2003, he worked as ambassador of China to the Netherlands, the UN organizations in Geneva and France. In 2003, he worked as the president of

China Foreign Affairs University China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU; ) is a public university for diplomats located in Beijing, China. It is jointly administrated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. It is a Chinese state Double First Class Un ...

and served for five years. In the same year he was elected as the president of the Bureau International des Expositions, and he was the first Chinese and Asian as well as the first person from a developing country to serve in the post, in which he served two two-year terms. Wu was a member of the

Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History In 2010, Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels sat down with a group of academics, business leaders, and political veterans in California to discus ...

's 21st Century Council. On June 18, 2016, Wu died when the car in which he was traveling struck a median while exiting the Donghu Lake Tunnel in

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...

, China. Wu was on his way to lecture at

Wuhan University Wuhan University (WHU; ) is a public research university in Wuhan, Hubei. The university is sponsored by the Ministry of Education. Wuhan university was founded as one of the four elite universities in the early republican period of China and i ...

. He was 77. His wife, Shi Yanhua, was also a professional diplomat who had served as the English interpreter for

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

and was the former Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg.

References

1939 births 2016 deaths Diplomats of the People's Republic of China Ambassadors of China to France Ambassadors of China to the Netherlands Road incident deaths in the People's Republic of China Academic staff of Wuhan University {{China-diplomat-stub