Soong Ching-ling

Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981; Christian name Rosamonde or Rosamond) was a Chinese politician and activist. She was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, therefore known by Madame Sun Yat-sen and the "Mother of Modern China". A member of the Soong family, she and her family played a significant role in shaping the Republic of China. As a prominent leader of the left wing of the Kuomintang (KMT), she founded the Revolutionary Committee of the KMT. She entered the Communist government in 1949, and was the only female, non-Communist head of state of the People's Republic of China. She was named Honorary Chairman of the People's Republic of China and admitted to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a few weeks before her death in 1981.

Born in Shanghai and educated in the United States, she married Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China and the KMT, as his third wife in 1915 and became a strong advocate for Sun's KMT-CCP coalition, opposing Chiang Kai-shek's split with the CCP in 1927. During the Second Sino-Japanese War she joined her sisters in China's wartime capital Chongqing to demonstrate national unity and support for the KMT-CCP alliance. However, during the subsequent Chinese Civil War she continued her support to the CCP, leading to a break in ties with her family. After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, she held several prominent positions in the Communist government, including Vice Chairman of the PRC (1949–1954; 1959–1975) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (1954–1959; 1975–1981). She travelled abroad during the early 1950s, representing China at a number of international events.