Burhan Shahidi

Burhan Shahidi was a Chinese Tatar politician who occupied several top positions in Xinjiang, initially in the government of the Republic of China (ROC) and then government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). He served as the ROC's vice-chairman in the Coalition Government of Xinjiang Province, formed between the ROC and the Second East Turkestan Republic in 1946. After the coalition government's dissolution the following year and the incorporation of Xinjiang into the PRC in 1949, Burhan joined the Chinese Communist Party and was appointed the first and only chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial People's Government, before it became the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Government in 1955. He later served as the vice-chairman of the second, third, fifth, and sixth national committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He was also the founder and inaugural president of the Islamic Association of China.