Qin Huasun

Qin Huasun (; September 1935 – 3 February 2017) was a Chinese diplomat who served as the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations from 1995 to 2000 and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 1995.

Early life Born in 1935 in the city of Gaoyou in Jiangsu, Qin graduated from China Foreign Affairs University in 1961 and in the same year, joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Diplomatic career In 1961, he was assigned to the Information Department of the ministry and served till 1969. From 1971 to 1980, he served as third secretary and then second secretary at the Embassy of China in Sierra Leone. After returning to China, Qin served as the director and later counsellor of the Information Department, for four years. China again used its veto in February 1999 to block sending United Nations peacekeeping forces to Macedonia after Macedonia established diplomatic ties with Taiwan. These two vetoes were the fourth and fifth vetoes used by China in the Security Council. Qin was elected as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and became a member of the foreign affairs committee in March 1998. On 7 May 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia when the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, was bombed by the United States, resulting in the deaths of three Chinese nationals, Qin termed the bombing "barbarian" and convened an emergency Security Council meeting in response to the bombing. His tenure also saw humanitarian crises in Burundi, Kosovo and East Timor. He stepped down as permanent representative in February 2000.

Later life Qin retired in 2004. He died of illness at the age of 81, on 3 February 2017.