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Kung Hsiang-hsi (Chinese: 孔祥熙; pinyin: Kǒng Xiángxī; Wade–Giles: K'ung Hsiang-hsi; September 11, 1881 – August 16, 1967), often known as Dr. H. H. Kung, was a wealthy Chinese banker and politician of the mid 20th century. He was highly influential in determining the economic policies of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) government in the 1930s and 1940s. He was known as the richest man in China at that time.<br/><br/> Kung was an early supporter of Sun Yat-sen, and worked with Wang Jingwei before serving in the government of Chiang Kai-shek. Kung began his career in the government of the Republic of China as the Minister of Industry, holding this position from 1927-1928. Kung joined the central executive committee of the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1931. He served as Premier of the Republic of China from 1 January 1938 – 20 November 1939.<br/><br/> Kung then served as the Vice-Premier of the Executive Yuan, from 1935-1945. Dr. Kung served as China's Chief Delegate to the International Monetary & Financial Conference in 1944, where he signed the Bretton Woods Accord during the Bretton Woods Conference at the Mount Washington Hotel, New Hampshire, in the United States. This conference established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group.<br/><br/> Kung first married Han Yu-mei in 1910, but she died in 1913. In 1914 Kung married his second wife, Soong Ai-ling, the eldest of the Soong sisters. This marriage made Kung the brother-in-law of Soong Mei-ling, the wife of Chiang Kai-shek.
Kung Hsiang-hsi (Chinese: 孔祥熙; pinyin: Kǒng Xiángxī; Wade–Giles: K'ung Hsiang-hsi; September 11, 1881 – August 16, 1967), often known as Dr. H. H. Kung, was a wealthy Chinese banker and politician of the mid 20th century. He was highly influential in determining the economic policies of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) government in the 1930s and 1940s. He was known as the richest man in China at that time.<br/><br/> Kung was an early supporter of Sun Yat-sen, and worked with Wang Jingwei before serving in the government of Chiang Kai-shek. Kung began his career in the government of the Republic of China as the Minister of Industry, holding this position from 1927-1928. Kung joined the central executive committee of the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1931. He served as Premier of the Republic of China from 1 January 1938 – 20 November 1939.<br/><br/> Kung then served as the Vice-Premier of the Executive Yuan, from 1935-1945. Dr. Kung served as China's Chief Delegate to the International Monetary & Financial Conference in 1944, where he signed the Bretton Woods Accord during the Bretton Woods Conference at the Mount Washington Hotel, New Hampshire, in the United States. This conference established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group.<br/><br/> Kung first married Han Yu-mei in 1910, but she died in 1913. In 1914 Kung married his second wife, Soong Ai-ling, the eldest of the Soong sisters. This marriage made Kung the brother-in-law of Soong Mei-ling, the wife of Chiang Kai-shek.
A domestic portrait outside the house at Yokohama Yamate-cho 59: Charles Soong is standing second from left. Front row from left: Song Zian, Soong Ching-ling, Ni Gui Zhen, Song Ai-ling. Standing behind Song Ailing is a young H.H. Kung. The couple would marry in Yokohama on September 20 1914.
Song Ailing, the eldest of the Soong sisters, was the wife of H. H. Kung (Kung Hsiang-Hsi), who was the richest man in the early 20th century Republic of China. Born in Shanghai, Soong arrived in the United States at the Port of San Francisco, CA on June 30, 1904 aboard the SS Korea at the age of 14 to begin her education at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. She returned to China in 1909 after her graduation. In late 1911, she worked as a secretary for Sun Yat-sen, a job later succeeded by her sister, Soong Ching-ling. She met her future husband, Kung Hsiang Hsi, in 1913, and married the following year in Yokohama. After marrying, Soong taught English for a while and engaged in child welfare work. She went to the United States in the 1940s, and died at the age of 83 on October 18, 1973 in New York.