Zhou Enlai
Premier of People’s Republic of China
(1898 –1976)
Zhou Enlai was born in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province on March 5, 1898.  He was the eldest son of the Zhou family and when he was less than one year old, he was adopted by his father’s youngest brother who was dying of tuberculosis.  According to Confucian tradition, to die childless was a serious scandal for a family, which is why the adoption had to take place.  His birth mother died in 1907, and his adoptive mother, Lady Chen, died shortly after he turned ten.  At that time, he left Huai’an to go live with his uncle, Yakang in Shenyang, Manchuria.  There he studied at the Tung Guan School and later in the Nankai School, where he was an exceptional student.

Zhou first gained attention as an activist during the May Fourth Movement, where he organized the students “against the warlords and against imperialism, and to save China from extinction.”  In 1920 he was chosen to go to France as a student organizer, where he was the chief recruiter, organizer and coordinator of activities of the Socialist Youth League. Upon his return to China in 1924, he was appointed deputy-director of the political department at the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou, where he led the Northern Expedition.  Afterwards, he was very active in promoting a united anti-Japanese front, and during the Sino-Japanese War, Zhou served as CCP ambassador to Chiang’s wartime government in Chongquing.  In 1949 Zhou assumed the role of the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.  In 1958, the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs was passed to Chen Yi.  Zhou, however, remained Prime Minister until his death in 1976.
 
Information from Wikipedia