Founding Fathers: Wan Li: Resolute Reformer and Legislator

Wan Li, a Shandong native, operated at the highest level of party and government during his long and illustrious career. Arguably his finest hour was the ground-breaking agricultural reforms he pushed through in the impoverished rural areas of Anhui province. The reforms proved so successful that they were later extended countrywide and legally enshrined in the constitution. As minister of railways in 1975, his claim to fame was getting rid of factionalism among railway workers and leaders, getting the trains to run on time, and reviving railway construction to enable it to facilitate national economic growth.