Franklin D. Roosevelt with Winston Churchill, Chiang kai Shek and Madame Chiang at the Cairo Conference, Egypt. November 25, 1943.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Mei-ling Soong) (1897-2003) was the second wife of Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the Chinese Nationalist government. Born in China as Mei-ling Soong, Madame Chiang was one of three sisters who were active in the rise of the Chinese Nationalist Party. Eleanor Roosevelt was an early admirer of Madame Chiang; however that relationship faded after the end of the war.

In 1943, Madame Chiang made an extended trip to the United States to advocate on behalf of aid to China in its battle with Japanese forces. She championed both China and her husband and was able to hold her own with other world leaders – a trait ER admired. Madame Chiang, however, held certain views on race and elitism which were counter to those of ER. The relationship between the two cooled with the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.