H. H. Kung

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H.H. Kung
H.H. Kung
This is a Chinese name; the family name is 孔 (Kung/Kong).

K'ung Hsiang-hsi (Chinese: 孔祥熙; pinyin: Kǒng Xiángxī; Wade-Giles: K'ung Hsiang-hsi) (September 11, 1881 - August 16, 1967), often known as H. H. Kung, was a wealthy Chinese banker and politician in the early 20th Century.

Born in Shanxi Province, he was educated at Oberlin College and Yale University.

Kung was an early supporter of Sun Yat-sen and later of Chiang Kai-shek. He long served in the Republic of China government as minister of industry and commerce (1928–1931), minister of finance (1933–1944), and governor of the Central Bank of China (1933–1945). He joined the central executive committee of the Kuomintang in 1931.

He served as Premier of the Republic of China from 1 January 1938 - 20 November 1939.

Kung married Soong Ai-ling, one of the Soong sisters.

After the retreat of the KMT to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War, he moved to the United States.

He was the richest man in China.

Kung shares the same surname with Confucius and claimed to be a 75th generation descendant, as indicated by the generation name 祥(Hsiang; pinyin: Xiáng).

[edit] Further reading

See also: History of the Republic of China

Preceded by
Chiang Kai-shek		 Premier of the Republic of China
1938–1939		 Succeeded by
Chiang Kai-shek
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