Tien Chung-chin

Tien Chung-chin was born in 1899 and known by the courtesy name Yunching (Chinese: 雲青).[1] A native of Qingcheng County, he attended Peking University, where he participated in the May Fourth Movement. Soon after graduation in 1923, Tien began advanced study in the United States. Starting in 1925, Tien enrolled in the University of Washington, then transferred to the University of Missouri before earning a master's and doctoral degree from the University of Illinois. Tien returned to China in 1930, joining the faculty of Northeastern University. In February 1931, Tien was appointed to the Control Yuan. In January 1936, he was named the leader of the Gansu Provincial Department of Education. After the Xi'an Incident, Tien was named chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government. He began a second term on the Control Yuan in 1938.[1][2] Concurrently, Tien also served as president of Lanzhou University.[2] In November 1946, he was elected to the National Constituent Assembly.[1] Tien also retained his Control Yuan position, which included oversight of Gansu and Shaanxi.[2] On 13 July 1948, Tien took office as the inaugural Minister of Examination.[3]

Tien left for Taiwan in 1949.[1] From 1951 to 1954, he led the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. In 1958, Tien succeeded Wang Depu as interior minister. Upon stepping down from the ministry of the interior in 1960, Tien served on the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission for a second time, until 1963. In 1971, he was nominated to succeed Xie Guansheng as President of the Judicial Yuan. Tien held the office until his death in Taipei on 30 March 1977.[2]