Ke Hua (Chinese: 柯华; 19 December 1915 – 1 January 2019) was a Chinese diplomat who served as Chinese Ambassador to Guinea from 1960 to 1964, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana from 1972 to 1974, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines from 1975 to 1978, and Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1978 to 1983.[1]

Ke Hua
柯华
Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
September 1978 – March 1983
Preceded bySong Zhiguang
Succeeded byChen Zhaoyuan
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines
In office
December 1975 – April 1978
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byChen Xinren
Chinese Ambassador to Ghana
In office
September 1972 – August 1974
Preceded byHuang Hua
Succeeded byYang Keming
Chinese Ambassador to Guinea
In office
March 1960 – May 1964
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byChai Zemin
Personal details
Born
Lin Dechang (林德常)

(1915-12-19)19 December 1915
Puning, Guangdong, China
Died1 January 2019(2019-01-01) (aged 103)
Beijing, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
SpouseZhang Ming
Children3, including Ke Lingling
Alma materYenching University
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinKē Huá

Biography

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Ke Hua was born as Lin Dechang (Chinese: 林德常) in Lihu Town of Puning County, Guangdong Province, on December 19, 1915.

He entered the Yenching University in 1935, during his school days, he participated in the December 9th Movement. In April 1937, he visited Yan'an, where he got the chance to meet Mao Zedong. In November 1937, he went to Linfen, Shanxi to join the Eighth Route Army.

After the establishment of the Communist State in 1949, he became vice-party chief of Xi'an, Shaanxi. In December 1954, he was transferred to Beijing, capital of China, where he was appointed director of the Department of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In March 1960, he was appointed Chinese Ambassador to Guinea, a position he held until May 1964. Then, he successively served as Chinese Ambassador to Ghana from 1972 to 1974, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines from 1975 to 1978, and Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1978 to 1983. Ke returned to China in 1983, and that same year, he was appointed counselor of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council. He was involved in the early stage of Sino-British talks on Hong Kong's future in the early 1980s.[2] In 1988, he became a member of the 7th National Committee Standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He retired in 1995. On January 1, 2019, he died of an illness in Beijing, aged 103.[2]

Personal life

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Ke married Zhang Ming (Chinese: 张明), and the couple had three daughters. His youngest daughter, Ke Lingling (Chinese: 柯玲玲), was Xi Jinping's first wife.[2] Ke Lingling has been living in the United Kingdom since 1982.

References

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  1. ^ 103岁外交家柯华逝世 全程参与香港回归谈判. ifeng (in Chinese). 2019-01-03.
  2. ^ a b c "Chinese President Xi Jinping's former father-in-law, diplomat Ke Hua, dies in Beijing at age 103". 4 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
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Diplomatic posts
New title People's Republic of China Ambassador to Guinea
1960–1964
Succeeded by
Preceded by People's Republic of China Ambassador to Ghana
1972–1974
Succeeded by
Yang Keming (杨克明)
New title People's Republic of China Ambassador to the Philippines
1975–1978
Succeeded by
Preceded by People's Republic of China Ambassador to the United Kingdom
1978–1983
Succeeded by
Chen Zhaoyuan (陈肇源)