Who is China’s former premier Zhu Rongji?
Zhu Rongji was born on October 1, 1928, in Changsha, Hunan Province. He was the mayor of Shanghai from 1987 to 1991, before becoming the vice premier of China. He then served as the country’s fifth premier from 1998 to 2003.
Zhu managed China’s economy through a difficult period when wasteful state-owned enterprises were reformed or shut down, leading to massive layoffs.
He was also a key driver behind China’s entry to the World Trade Organization in 2001.
In 2013 and 2014, Zhu donated a total of 40 million yuan ($6.5 million) to support education in poor areas, making him China’s most philanthropic retired politician.
