Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), a native of Hefei, Anhui Province, was an important military and administrative official during the late Qing Dynasty. In 1870 he became Governor of Zhili (present-day Hebei) Province and Minister in Charge of the Northern Coastal Provinces. On behalf of the Qing government he presided over the signing of unequal treaties such as the Sino-British Yantai Treaty, the Sino-French New Treaty, the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Shinomoseki, the Sino-Russian Secret Pact, and the Peace Treaty of 1901 with 11 countries including Great Britain, the United States, Russia, Germany and Japan. Under the terms of these treaties China relinquished sovereignty, ceded territory and paid indemnities.