Elihan Tore

Elihan Tore Saghuniy (ʿAli Khan Türe or Alihan Tore Shakirjan Khoja ogli) (Uyghur: علیخان‎) Chinese: 艾力汗·吐烈; pinyin: Àilìhàn·Tǔliè Алихан -тюре (21 March 1884 – 28 February 1976) was president of the Second East Turkestan Republic.

Biography

Elihan Tore was born in Tokmok, formerly known as Balasagun, Kyrgyzstan, and in 1920 he escaped from the Soviet Union to Kashgar in Xinjiang, China.

In April 1944, Elihan Tore along with Abdulkerim Abbas and ten others formed a liberation organization in Ghulja (Yining) to free Xinjiang of Chinese Nationalist rule. On November 11, 1944, they launched the Ili Rebellion with the support of the Soviet Union.

Elihan Tore was elected as President of the Eastern Turkestan Republic (ETR) next day after victory of Revolt in Ghulja city on 12 November 1944. Had a military rank of Marshal of Ili National Army, formed on April 8, 1945.

Elihan Tore was the only person in the ETR leadership who opposed Joseph Stalin's order to terminate offensive of Ili National Army on Urumchi and start negotiations with Kuomintang in October 1945, on the dawn of full victory of rebel forces over Kuomintang in Sinkiang (Eastern Turkestan).