China: Li Hongzhang (Lu Hung-chang), Marquis Suyi of the Qing Empire, 1896

Li Hongzhang (Wade–Giles: Li Hung-chang), Marquis Suyi of the First Class (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901), was a Chinese civilian official who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire. He served in important positions of the Imperial Court, once holding the office of the Viceroy of Zhili.

Although he was best known in the West for his diplomatic negotiation skills, after the 1894 First Sino-Japanese War, Li became a symbol in China for late Qing-dynasty Chinese weakness vis-a-vis foreign powers. His image in China remains largely controversial, with criticism on one hand for his lack of political insight and failure to win a single external military campaign against foreign powers, and praise on the other hand for his role as a pioneer of industrial and military modernization, his diplomatic skills, and the success of his military campaigns against the Taiping Rebellion. For his life work the British Queen Victoria made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

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