JIANG ZEMIN +

Former president Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China was always linked to the Shanghai ways. He looked happy, indulging in music and languages, more patriotic than Marxist.  Nevertheless his more relaxed persona never stood in the way of party adherence. His commitment to economic reform might have persuaded Deng Xiaoping to select him as the unlucky Zhao Ziyang's successor. 

He oversaw the Hong Kong handover with flair and reset the button of international relations, mostly with the USA. He put a smile on the Chinese granite.

I was stuck by his calculated bonhomie and occasional candor. He allowed his more southern temperament some breathing space in a system which has almost none. He certainly was closer to the ordinary Chinese, who can be humorous as long as their nationalistic DNA is left alone.