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Ku Wei-chün 顧維鈞 (V. K. Wellington Koo)
President of the Republic of China Interim
In office 1 October 1926 – 16 June 1927
Preceded by	Du Xigui (Acting)
Succeeded by	Chiang Kai-shek
Born	29 January 1887(1887-01-29) Shanghai, China
Died	14 November 1985 (aged 98) New York City, New York, United States
Nationality	Chinese
Spouse(s)	Hui-lan Koo
Occupation	Diplomat, Politician

Koo Vi Kyuin or Ku Wei-chün (traditional Chinese: 顧維鈞; simplified Chinese: 顾维钧; Pinyin: Gù Wéijūn; Wade-Giles: Ku Wei-chün) (January 29, 1887 – November 14, 1985), often known by the Western name V.K. Wellington Koo, was a prominent diplomat under the Republic of China, representative to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Ambassador to France, Great Britain, and the United States; participant in founding the League of Nations and the United Nations; and judge on the International Court of Justice at the Hague from 1957 to 1967. Between October 1926 and June 1927, while serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Koo briefly held the concurrent positions of acting Premier and interim President of the Republic of China. Koo is the first and only Chinese head of state known to use a Western name publicly.

Early life and career

Born in Shanghai in 1887, Koo attended Saint John's University, Shanghai, and Columbia College, where he was a member of the Philolexian Society, a literary and debating club, and graduated in 1908. In 1912 he received his PhD in international law and diplomacy from Columbia University.

Koo returned to China in 1912 to serve the new Republic of China as English Secretary to President Yuan Shikai. In 1915 Koo was made China's Minister to the United States and Cuba. In 1919 he was a member of the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, led by Foreign Minister Lou Tseng-Tsiang. Before the Western powers and Japan, he demanded that Japan return Shandong to China. He also called for an end to imperialist institutions such as extraterritoriality, tariff controls, legation guards, and lease holds. The Western powers refused his claims and, consequently, the Chinese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference was the only nation that did not sign the Treaty of Versailles at the signing ceremony.

Koo also was involved in the formation of the League of Nations as China's first representative to the newly formed League. He was briefly Acting Premier, Interim President, and Foreign Minister in 1926-1927 during a period of chaos in Beijing under Chang Tso-lin. He represented China at the League of Nations to protest the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. He served as the Chinese Ambassador to France from 1936-1940, until France was occupied by Germany. Afterwards he was the Chinese Ambassador to the Court of St. James's until 1946. In 1945 Koo was one of the founding members of the United Nations.He later became the Chinese Ambassador to the United States and focused in maintaining the alliance between the Republic of China and the United States as the Kuomintang began losing to the Chinese Communists and had to retreat to Taiwan.

Koo retired from the Chinese diplomatic service in 1956. In 1956 he became a judge of the International Court of Justice at The Hague and served as Vice-President of the Court during the final three years of his term. In 1967 he retired and moved to New York City where he lived until his death in 1985.

Marriages

• A first wife, name unknown, divorced.

• Pao-yu "May" Tang (circa 1895-1918) was the youngest daughter of the former Chinese prime minister Tang Shaoyi and a first cousin of the painter and actress Mai-Mai Sze.[1][2][3]^[1] Their marriage took place soon after Koo's return to China in 1912; she died in an influenza epidemic in 1918. ^[2] The Koos had two children, a son, Teh-chang Koo (1916-1998),[4] and a daughter, Patricia Koo (b. 1918).

• Hui-lan [5] Oei (1899-1992),[6][7], whom Koo married in Brussels, Belgium, 1921.^[3][8] Much admired for her adaptations of traditional Manchu fashion, which she wore with lace trousers and jade necklaces,^[4], she was one of the 42 acknowledged children of the Peranakan Chinese sugar magnate Oei Tiong Ham^[5] and wrote two memoirs: Hui-Lan Koo (Mrs. Wellington Koo): An Autobiography (written with Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer, Dial Press, 1945)^[6][7] and No Feast Lasts Forever (written with Isabella Taves, Quadrangle/The New York Times, 1975).[9] By her, Koo had two sons, Yu-chang Koo (b. 1922, a.k.a. Wellington Koo Jr) and Fu-chang Koo (b. 1923, a.k.a. Freeman Koo).^[8][10] The Koos were divorced after World War II ^[9]

• Princess Betty Char-nuis Borjigit Yen, a Mongolian Princess who is also a cousin of Hui-Lan. They met in the 1930s when Princess Betty is still married to architect, Robert Yen. They married in the 1950s in New York but divorced in less than 2 years. They have no children. Also a fashion icon, she was a bitter rival of Hui-lan. She used the name Madame Wellington Yen Koo to differentiate from her predecessor who insisted upon being addressed as Madame Wellington Koo after the divorce. She later became a noted fashion Designer in Hong Kong under her maiden name Betty Char-Nuis. ^[10]

• Juliana Young, the widow of Clarence Kuangson Young. He had three stepdaughters: Genevieve, Shirley, and Frances Loretta Young.^[11]

References

• "Ku Wei-chun," in Howard Boorman, Richard Howard, eds. Biographical Dictionary of Republican China New York: Columbia University Press, 1968, Vol 2 pp. 255-259.

• Clements, Jonathan. Makers of the Modern World: Wellington Koo. London: Haus Publishing, 2008.

• Craft, Stephen G. V.K. Wellington Koo and the Emergence of Modern China. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003.

• Hui-lan Oei Koo, with Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer, Hui-Lan Koo: An Autobiography New York: Dial Press, 1943.

Notes

1. ^ "Chinese Minister to Mexico Chosen: V.K. Wellington Koo, Graduate of Columbia, Also Envoy to Peru and Cuba", The New York Times, 26 July 1915
2. ^ Boorman Biographical Dictionary Vol II p. 255.
3. ^ Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer, "Mme. Koo Sees Our Future Linked With China's", The New York Times, 5 February 1939
4. ^ Mary Van Renssaelaer Thayer, "Mme. Koo Sees Our Future Linked With China's", The New York Times, 5 February 1939
5. ^ "Obituary: Mme. Oei Tong Ham, Mother in Law of Dr. Koo, Chinese Ambassador to U.S.", The New York Times, 1 February 1947
6. ^ "Mrs. Koo Explains Withdrawal of Book", The New York Times, 27 April 1943
7. ^ "Mrs. Wellington Koo's Life Story", The New York Times, 31 October 1945
8. ^ "Koo's Son Made Citizen; Daughter-in-Law of Ex-Envoy of China Also Takes Oath", The New York Times, 15 August 1956
9. ^ Boorman, Biographical Dictionary Vol II p. 259.
10. ^ Anita Moorjani, 1964, Hong Kong Tiger standard, p.8
11. ^ ibid.

External links

• Biography at Columbia
• Funny anecdote

Heads of government of the Republic of China Premiers of Cabinet Tang Shaoyi · Lou Tseng-Tsiang · Zhao Bingjun · Duan Qirui* · Xiong Xiling · Sun Baoqi* Secretaries of State Xu Shichang · Lou Tseng-Tsiang* · Xu Shichang Premiers of State Council Duan Qirui · Wu Tingfang* · Li Jingxi Prime Minister of Restored Qing Imperial Government Zhang Xun (under restored monarchy) Premiers of State Council Duan Qirui · Wang Daxie* · Wang Shizhen* · Qian Nengxun* · Duan Qirui · Qian Nengxun* · Gong Xinzhan* · Jin Yunpeng · Sa Zhenbing · Jin Yunpeng · Yan Huiqing* · Liang Shiyi · Yan Huiqing* · Zhou Ziqi* · Yan Huiqing · Wang Chonghui* · Wang Daxie* · Wang Zhengting* · Zhang Shaozeng · Gao Lingwei · Sun Baoqi · Wellington Koo* · Yan Huiqing · Huang Fu* · office abolished, 1924–25 · Xu Shiying · Jia Deyao* · Hu Weide* · Yan Huiqing · Du Xigui* · Wellington Koo* · Pan Fu Presidents of Executive Yuan Tan Yankai · T. V. Soong · Chiang Kai-shek · Chen Mingshu · Sun Fo · Wang Jingwei · Chiang Kai-shek · H. H. Kung · Chiang Kai-shek · T. V. Soong · Chiang Kai-shek · Chang Ch'ün · Weng Wenhao · Sun Fo · He Yingqin · Yen Hsi-shan · Chen Cheng · Yu Hung-Chun · Chen Cheng · Yen Chia-kan · Chiang Ching-kuo · Sun Yun-suan · Yu Kuo-hwa · Lee Huan · Hau Pei-tsun · Lien Chan · Vincent Siew · Tang Fei · Chang Chun-hsiung · Yu Shyi-kun · Frank Hsieh · Su Tseng-chang · Chang Chun-hsiung · Liu Chao-shiuan · Wu Den-yih * acting