Buhe (alternative romanization Bu He; Chinese: 布赫; born March 1926, died May 5, 2017), also known by the name Yun Shuguang, was a senior Chinese politician associated with the leadership of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He was the eldest son of the influential Inner Mongolian leader Ulanhu, and he belonged to a cohort of ethnic minority officials who rose to prominent provincial and national posts in the People's Republic of China.

Positions and roles

Over the course of his career Buhe held a number of important offices. His principal posts included:

  • Chairman (head) of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 1982–1993;
  • Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress, 1993–2003;
  • Member of the 12th and 13th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China during the 1980s and early 1990s.

As regional chairman, Buhe occupied the top administrative position in Inner Mongolia, responsible for economic planning, ethnic affairs, and implementing national policies within the autonomous region. His later role as a vice chairman of the National People's Congress placed him among the senior figures in China’s national legislature.

Political context and activity

Buhe's leadership years coincided with the reform and opening era that began in the late 1970s. Regional leaders like Buhe were tasked with balancing central directives with local priorities, including economic modernization and the management of ethnic minority relations. Serving on two consecutive Central Committees linked him to the broader policy debates of the time and to the Party’s central decision-making structures.

Being the son of Ulanhu — a key figure in the establishment of autonomous institutions for Mongol areas — Buhe was part of a prominent political family. That lineage shaped both his political opportunities and public image, and it reflected a pattern in which revolutionary-era leaders and their descendants continued to influence provincial and national administration.

Legacy and notable facts

Buhe died on May 5, 2017, at the age of 91. He is remembered as a long-serving official who played a central role in Inner Mongolia's governance during a period of economic and institutional change. His career illustrates the pathways available to ethnic minority leaders within the Chinese political system and the continued importance of provincial leadership in implementing national reforms.

Relevant aspects of his biography are his membership in the Communist Party’s central organs during the 1980s and his decade-long service in the NPC leadership in the 1990s and early 2000s. These positions underline his dual significance as both a regional governor and a national-level legislator.