Luo Ronghuan

Luo Ronghuan
罗荣桓
Luo in 1955
Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In office
27 September 1954 – 16 December 1963
ChairmanLiu Shaoqi
Zhu De
Director of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army
In office
January 1961 – December 1963
Preceded byXiao Hua
Succeeded byTan Zheng
In office
September 1954 – December 1956
Preceded byTan Zheng
Succeeded byOffice established
Vice Chairman of the National Defense Council[a]
In office
19 June 1954 – 4 January 1965
ChairmanMao Zedong
Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission
In office
March 1961 – December 1963
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byTan Zheng
In office
17 September 1955 – 27 September 1954
Preceded byTan Zheng
Succeeded byXiao Hua
Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate
In office
1 October 1949 – 27 September 1954
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byZhang Dingcheng
Personal details
Born(1902-11-26)26 November 1902
Hengshan County, Hunan Province, Qing dynasty
Died16 December 1963(1963-12-16) (aged 61)
Beijing, China
OccupationGeneral, politician, writer
Nickname102 (military call sign)
Military service
AllegianceChina People's Republic of China
Branch/servicePeople's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service1927–1963
RankYuanshuai
CommandsPolitical Commissar of the Northeast Field Army, PLA
Battles/wars
Awards Order of Bayi (First Class Medal)
Order of Independence and Freedom (First Class Medal)
Order of Liberation (China) (First Class Medal)

Luo Ronghuan (simplified Chinese: 罗荣桓; traditional Chinese: 羅榮桓; pinyin: Luó Rónghuán; Wade–Giles: Lo Jung-huan; November 26, 1902 – December 16, 1963) was a Marshal of the People's Republic of China. He served as a Vice Chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Biography

Luo was born in a village in Hengshan County, Hunan Province. In 1919, at the age of 17, he enrolled in Xiejun Middle School in Changsha. Five years later, he began attending Shandong University (then Qingdao Private College), completing a preparatory course in Industry in Commerce in 1926. He joined the Chinese Communist Youth League in April 1927 and the Chinese Communist Party later that year. He was the only one of the later ten Marshals to have followed Mao in the Autumn Harvest Uprising. During the Long March he served as the security chief for the Chinese Red Army.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War he served as political commissar of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. The Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region anti-troskyites campaign extended to other base areas, including Shandong, leading to a frenzied campaign of mass execution of party cadres. This was put to a halt thanks to Luo's intervention in November 1939. This incident reached Yan'an in early 1940, which lead to a reexamination of the anti-trotskyite campaign in Shandong on a meeting convened by Chen Yun. Here, the campaign was criticized as too extremist, although it was maintained that it was correct, which was not enough to stop the deadly campaign, despite Luo's efforts, which saved more than 100 lives, the campaign did not fully end until April 1942, after an inspection by Liu Shaoqi.[1]: 480–481 

After Zhu Rui dismissal as political commissar of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong in 1942, he held unified leadership over the government, Party and military in the Shandong area during the war against Japan. He chaired the General Study Committee, where he tried to oppose the Rectification Campaign excesses in Shandong.[1]: 617–620  During his leadership of Shandong the communist forces and territory grew, at the time of China's victory on the war against Japan the CCP controlled most of Shandong strongholds and communication lines, which were vital for communist victory during the Chinese civil war.[1]: 625 

After World War II, Luo served as the political commissar of Lin Biao in Northeast China during the Chinese civil war.

After the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 he became Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). He was made a marshal in 1955.

Luo was the member of the 7th CPC Central Committee and 8th CPC Politburo. He died in 1963, and the funeral was attended by Mao and Lin Biao; the only other funeral attended by Lin Biao was for PLA Air Force General Liu Yalou.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Office was known as the "Vice Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission" before 29 September 1954.

References

  1. ^ a b c Gao Hua, How the Red Sun Rose: The Origins and Development of the Yan'an Rectification Movement, 1930–1945, Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. 2018
Political offices
Preceded by
none
Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate
1949–1954
Succeeded by