Han Lih-wu (; 26 January 1903 – 26 February 1991) was a Chinese educator, politician and diplomat.

Life and career

Born in Anhui, Han earned degrees from

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU) is a public university in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated and sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The univers ...

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. After completing his education in the United States, Han taught at Nanjing University until 1931, when he was named leader of the British–Chinese Educational Association, where he served until 1946. In 1944, Han was appointed deputy minister of education. He succeeded

Chen Hsueh-ping Chen Hsueh-ping (November 1, 1901 – April 12, 1999) was a Chinese educator, psychologist, and politician in the Republic of China. A member of the Tsotanhui Clique within the Kuomintang. Biography Chen was born into a banking family; his fath ...

in office in 1949. Han aided the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

retreat to Taiwan later that year by moving artworks of the

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin District, Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a S ...

from Peking to Taipei. He served as the

Director of National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a southern branch i ...

from September 1949 to June 1956. Upon stepping down from the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

in 1950, Han became presidential adviser to Chiang Kai-shek until 1956. He became Republic of China ambassador to Thailand that year, and in 1962, was concurrently assigned to Laos. Han later served as ambassador to the Philippines and Greece, from 1964 to 1968, and between 1968 and 1972, respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Lih-wu 1903 births 1991 deaths Taiwanese people from Anhui Republic of China politicians from Anhui Education ministers of the Republic of China Senior advisors to President Chiang Kai-shek Nanjing University alumni Academic staff of Nanjing University Alumni of the University of London University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Politicians from Chuzhou Educators from Anhui Ambassadors of the Republic of China to Greece Ambassadors of the Republic of China to the Philippines Ambassadors of the Republic of China to Laos Ambassadors of the Republic of China to Thailand