In April 1949, the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River and liberated Nanjing, and in June 1949, the whole territory of Jiangsu was liberated. After the liberation of Jiangsu, our party set up three provincial-level administrative regions in Jiangsu: the Northern Jiangsu Administration District, the Southern Jiangsu Provincial Administration District, and the Nanjing Municipality Directly Under the Central Government. On November 15, 1952, the relevant departments issued the "Resolution on Adjusting the Provincial and Regional Structure", abolished the administrative regions of northern Jiangsu and southern Jiangsu, and at the same time, also published the list of the chairman and vice chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, of which Tan Zhenlin was appointed as the chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government.
It is worth mentioning that during the Republic of China period, the highest chief executive of each province was called the chairman, for example, the chief executive of Jiangsu Province was called the chairman of the Jiangsu provincial government. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to distinguish the title of the Kuomintang, the title of the provincial chief executive was changed to "chairman of the people's government", and it was not until 1955 that the top administrator of the provinces was changed to "governor of the people's committee".
Today we will talk about the story of Tan Zhenlin, the first chief executive of Jiangsu Province. Born in 1902 in Youxian County, Hunan Province, Tan Zhenlin followed Chairman Mao to Jinggangshan during the Great Revolution and participated in the creation of the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area, making indelible contributions to the early development and growth of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. After the Red Army left Jinggangshan, Tan Zhenlin also took part in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" battle in the central base area. In October 1934, after the Central Red Army left Ruijin, Tan Zhenlin did not follow the Long March of the Central Red Army, but stayed in the Soviet zone and insisted on guerrilla warfare.
In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in full swing, and under the guidance of the two-party united front, the remaining Red Army in the eight southern provinces was reorganized into the New Fourth Army, and Tan Zhenlin also joined the New Fourth Army and served as the deputy commander of the second detachment of the New Fourth Army. After the Anhui Incident, Tan Zhenlin participated in the reconstruction of the New Fourth Army, and the troops he commanded were also reorganized into the Sixth Division of the New Fourth Army, Tan Zhenlin served as the division commander and political commissar of the Sixth Division, after which he commanded the New Fourth Army to participate in the anti-"sweeping" battles in southern Jiangsu, central Jiangsu and Huainan, ushering in the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
During the Liberation War, Tan Zhenlin served as the political commissar of the Central China Field Army, assisting General Su Yu in commanding the famous Suzhong Campaign and winning seven victories in seven battles. After the Central China Field Army and the Shandong Field Army were merged into the East China Field Army, Tan Zhenlin served as the deputy political commissar of the East China Field Army, participated in the command of the Laiwu Campaign, the Jinan Campaign, and so on, and was one of the heroes who founded new China.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Tan Zhenlin served as the deputy political commissar of the East China Military Region, and at the end of 1952, after the abolition of the northern and southern Jiangsu administrative regions, Tan Zhenlin was identified as the chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, becoming the highest chief executive of Jiangsu Province and the first chief executive of Jiangsu. On January 1, 1953, the People's Government of Jiangsu Province was formally established, and Tan Zhenlin was formally inaugurated. After a year as chief executive of Jiangsu, at the end of 1954, tan Zhenlin, 52, was transferred to the central government and appointed director of the second office of the secretariat. In 1956, at the age of 54, Tan Zhenlin was elected vice premier and became a vice-state-level cadre of new China.
It is worth mentioning that during the revolutionary period, Tan Zhenlin had made great achievements in battle, successively served in the Red Army, the New Fourth Army and the East China Field Army, and held important positions, it is reasonable to say that such a revolutionary hero should be awarded a military rank, but at the time of the award, Tan Zhenlin had already left the army, so he was not awarded any rank. Although he did not have any military rank, it did not affect Tan Zhenlin's enthusiasm for building a new China, and after that, he threw himself into the construction of new China with enthusiasm. However, during the "Great Leap Forward" period, Tan Zhenlin also promoted some unrealistic slogans, and he regretted it when he recalled the experience in his later years.
During the special period of ten years, Tan Zhenlin was also persecuted and greatly damaged physically and mentally, but fortunately he later made a comeback under the care of Chairman Mao. In his later years, Tan Zhenlin served as vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and vice chairman of the Central Advisory Committee, and died of illness in 1983 at the age of 81.