K'ung Hsiang-hsi

K'ung Hsiang-hsi ko͝ong shyäng-shē [key], 1881–1967, Chinese banker and political leader, educated at Oberlin and at Yale. He deemed himself a direct descendant of Confucius in the 75th generation. Throughout his career he supported Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. His first important position was minister of industry and commerce (1928–31). After 1931 he belonged to the central executive committee of the Kuomintang. He was minister of finance (1933–44), and governor of the Bank of China (1933–45). One of China's wealthiest and most powerful men, he was married to Soong Ai-ling (see Soong, family). K'ung Hsiang-hsi, also known as H. H. Kung, retired in 1945. After the fall of the Nationalist government (1949) he went to live in the United States.

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