| - Government Leaders - |
Republican Presidents
The collapse of the Imperial system of government brought a period of civil disruption in the form of rogue military entities each claiming legitimate governance over China. For 50 days, from the date of the Wuchang Uprising until Li Yuan-hung established the Central Military Government of the Republic of China, there was no single government authority in control of all of China.
Contents
| Military Governments (1911) |
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| Beginning with the Wuchang Uprising on October 11, 1911 and in the following two months, provincial military governments declared their independence from the Qing Empire under the name "Republic of China." On November 30, 1911, the "Central Military Government of the Republic of China" was established under the leadership of Li Yuan-hung. |
| Provisional President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China (Nanjing, 1912; Beijing, 1912- 1913) | |
|---|---|
| Sun Yat-sen | January 1, 1912- March 10, 1912 |
| Yuan Shi-kai | March 10, 1912- October 10, 1913 |
| Government of the Republic of China (Beijing, 1913 -1928) | |
|---|---|
| Yuan Shi-kai1 | October 10, 1913- December 22, 1915 |
| Yuan Shi-kai | March 22, 1916- June 6, 1916 |
| Li Yuan-hung2 | June 7, 1916- July 1, 1917 |
| Li Yuan-hung | July 12, 1917- July 17, 1917 |
| Feng Kuo-Chang | July 17, 1917- October 10, 1918 |
| Hsu Shih-Chang | October 10, 1918- June 2, 1922 |
| Zhou Ziqi (acting) | June 2, 1922- June 11, 1922 |
| Li Yuan-hung | June 11, 1922- June 13, 1923 |
| Zhang Shaozeng (acting) | June 13, 1923- September 9, 1923 |
| Gao Lingwei (acting) | September 9, 1923- October 10, 1923 |
| Tsao Kun | October 10, 1923- November 2, 1924 |
| Huang Fu (acting) | November 2, 1924- November 24, 1924 |
| Tuan Chi-Jui | November 24, 1924- April 20, 1926 |
| Hu Weide (acting) | April 20, 1926- May 13, 1926 |
| Yan Huiqing (acting) | May 13, 1926- June 22, 1926 |
| Du Xigui (acting) | June 22, 1926- October 1, 1926 |
| Gu Weijun (acting) | October 1, 1926- June 18, 1927 |
| Chang Tso-Lin | June 18, 1927- June 2, 1928 |
| Generalissimo of the Military Government (Guangzhou, 1917-1925) | |
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| The Chinese Revolutionary Party established a rival government in Guangzhou and declared legitimacy over the "warlord" government in Beijing (which they renamed Beiping since jing means "capital"). | |
| Sun Yat-sen | September 10, 1917- July 5, 1918 |
The Military Government was headed collectively by the Governing Committee of the Military Government (July 5, 1918- August 21, 1918)
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| Cen Chunxuan | August 21, 1918- October 24, 1920 |
Sun Yat-sen and his supporters were restored in Guangzhou with the help of local warlord Chen Jiongming in 1920. On October 24, 1920 to May 4, 1921, figurehead duties were again given collectively to the Governing Committee of the Military Government.
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| Sun Yat-sen | May 5, 1921- March 12, 1925 |
| Hu Han-min (acting) | March 12, 1925- July 1, 1925 |
| Chairmen of the National Government (Guangzhou, 1925- 1927) | |
|---|---|
| Wang Ching-wei3 | July 1, 1925- April 15, 1926 |
| Tan Yan-kai4 | April 16, 1926- March 29, 1927 |
| Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National Government (Wuhan, 1927)5 | |
|---|---|
| Wang Ching-wei3 | March 20, 1927- September 13, 1927 |
| Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National Government (Nanjing, 1927- 1937; Chongqing, 1937- 1945; Nanjing, 1945- 1948)6 | |
|---|---|
| Chiang Kai-shek | April 18, 1927- August 15, 1927 |
| Tan Yan-kai | August 15, 1927- October 10, 1928 |
| Chairmen of the National Government7, 8 | |
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| Chiang Kai-shek | October 10, 1928- December 15, 1931 |
| Lin Sen | December 15, 1931- August 1, 1943 |
| Chiang Kai-shek | August 1, 1943- May 20, 1948 |
| Acting Chairman of the Provisional National Government (Beiping, 1937-1940)9 | |
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| Wang Kemin | December 14, 1937- March 30, 1940 |
| Acting Chairman of the Reformed National Government (Nanjing, 1938-1940)10 | |
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| Liang Hongzhi | March 28, 1938- March 30, 1940 |
| Chairmen of the National Government (Nanjing, 1940-1945)11 | |
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| Wang Jingwei | March 30, 1940- November 10, 1944 |
| Chen Gongbo (acting) | November 20, 1944- August 1945 |
| Government of the Republic of China (Nanjing, 1948- 1949; Taipei, 1949- present)12 | |
|---|---|
| Presidents of the Republic of China | |
| Chiang Kai-shek13 | 20 May 1948- 21 January 1949 |
| Li Tsung-jen (acting) | 21 January 1949- 1 March 1950 |
| Chiang Kai-shek | 1 March 1950- 5 April 1975 (1st- 6th terms) |
| Yen Chia-kan | 5 April 1975- 20 May 1978 (6th term) |
| Chiang Ching-kuo | 20 May 1978- 13 January 1988 (7th and 8th terms) |
| Lee Teng-hui14 | 13 January 1988- 20 May 2000 (8th and 9th terms) |
| Chen Shui-bian | 20 May 2000- 20 May 2008 (10th and 11th terms) |
| Ma Ying-jeou | 20 May 2008- present (12th term) |
1- Yuan Shikai declared himself Emperor on December 22, 1915. Popular opposition led Yuan to retract his declaration on March 22, 1916.
2- Yuan died in 1916 and was succeeded by Vice President Li Yuan-hung. Warlord Zhang Xun restored the last Qing emperor, Xuantong (Aisin- Gioro Puyi) to the throne for twelve days from July 1 to July 12, 1917. The Republican government was soon restored, but local warlords forced Li from office.
3- Wang Ching-wei was forced out of office over the attempted kidnapping of Chiang Kai-shek in the Zhongshan Gunboat Incident.
4- In 1927, the Kuomintang embarked on the Northern Expedition and left its base in Guangzhou for Wuhan, Nanjing, and Shanghai in three separate divisions.
5- During the Northern Expedition, Wang Ching-wei declared Wuhan to be the capital of the Republic of China after the city's capture by National Revolutionary Army forces loyal to the KMT left-wing.
6- Chiang Kai-shek declared the capital of the Republic of China to be in Nanjing after the city's capture by National Revolutionary Army forces loyal to the KMT right-wing during the Northern Expedition.
7- The leftist government in Wuhan was overwhelmed by local warlords and agreed to join the Nationalist Government in Nanjing in September 1928.
8- The National Government relocated to Chongqing from 1937 to 1945 due to the Japanese invasion.
9- The Provisional National Government was established as a Japanese collaborationist government established under occupation.
10- The Reformed National Government was established as a Japanese collaborationist government established under occupation.
11- A National Government, as a challenge to the legitimacy of Chiang Kai-shek's National Government in Chongqing, was established as a Japanese collaborationist government established under occupation. As evidence of its claims to legitimacy, the government in Nanjing established the same set of institutions as the one in Chongqing and flew an almost-identical flag. This replaced the Provisional and Reformed National Governments.
12- A new constitution was promulgated on December 25, 1947 and Chiang Kai-shek was subsequently elected President by the National Assembly.
13- Chiang Kai-shek resigned amid losses in the Chinese Civil War. The government moved from Nanjing to Taipei on December 8, 1949. Li Tsung-jen had left for the United States in November 1949 and Chiang officially resumed his powers in March 1950.
14- Starting from the ninth term the president is elected by popular vote among citizens of the Republic of China in the "Free Area of the Republic of China" (area it administered), instead of by the National Assembly.
