List of Presidents of the People's Republic of China

To avoid confusion, all the names on this list follow the Eastern order convention (family name first, personal name second) for consistency.

This is a list of the Presidents and other heads of state of the People's Republic of China.

The office, called 国家主席 (Guójiā Zhǔxí) in Chinese, was created in 1954 when the 1st Constitution consolidated the system of government in the People's Republic of China. At the time, the title was translated into English as State Chairman. The position was abolished between 1975 and 1982 with the functions of head of state being performed by the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The presidency was revived under the fourth constitution in 1982.

List

Generations of leadership

      First Administration       Second Administration       Third Administration       Hu–Wen Administration       Xi–Li Administration

Central People's Government (1949–1954)

Chairman of the Central People's Government

Portrait		Name (Lifespan)		Term of office		Vice Chairmen
–		Mao Zedong 毛泽东 (1893–1976)		1 October 1949	27 September 1954	Zhu De Liu Shaoqi Song Qingling Li Jishen Zhang Lan Gao Gang

The 1st Constitution (1954–1975)

Chairman of the People's Republic of China

Portrait		Name (Lifespan) Constituency		Term of office		NPC	Vice Chairmen
1		Mao Zedong 毛泽东 (1893–1976) Beijing At-large		27 September 1954	27 April 1959	I	Zhu De
2		Liu Shaoqi 刘少奇 (1898–1969) Beijing At-large		27 April 1959	3 January 1965	II	Song Qingling Dong Biwu
				2 January 1965[1]	31 October 1968[2]	III
–		Dong Biwu 董必武 (1886–1975) Hubei At-large		24 February 1972	17 January 1975	III	Vacancy by ascension

The 2nd and 3rd Constitution (1975–1982)

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

Portrait		Name (Lifespan) Constituency		Term of office		NPC	Vice Chairmen
–		Zhu De 朱德 (1886–1976) Sichuan At-large		17 January 1975	6 July 1976	IV	Song Qingling[3] Dong Biwu[3] (died 2 April 1975) and others
–		Song Qingling 宋庆龄 (1893–1981) Shanghai At-large		6 July 1976	5 March 1978	IV
				After Zhu De's death, Song Qingling served as acting Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the remainder of the 4th National People's Congress's term.
–		Ye Jianying 叶剑英 (1897–1986) PLA		5 March 1978	18 June 1983	V	Song Qingling and others

Honorary President of the People's Republic of China

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death) Constituency	Term of office		NPC	Notes
–		Song Qingling 宋庆龄 (1893–1981) Shanghai At-large	16 May 1981	28 May 1981	V	Shortly before her death, Song Qingling was named Honorary President of the People's Republic of China.

The 4th Constitution (1983–present)

President of the People's Republic of China

Portrait		Name (Lifespan) Constituency	Term of office		NPC - (Election)	Vice President
3		Li Xiannian 李先念 (1909–1992) Hubei At-large	18 June 1983	8 April 1988	VI - (62.5%)	Ulanhu
			He started reforms in foreign policy and China began opening to the world. He was first Chinese president who visited USA. He was also the first state president who officially visited North Korea. In 1984, Li met with US President Ronald Reagan during Reagan's visit to China, notably discussing the status of Taiwan with the President. In 1988, Li resigned from his position as President of the People's Republic of China and was replaced by Yang Shangkun. Li was then named Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC.[4]
4		Yang Shangkun 杨尚昆 (1907–1998) PLA	8 April 1988	27 March 1993	VII - (66.8%)	Wang Zhen
			Yang promoted economic reform but opposed political liberalization, a position which Jiang Zemin's leadership led Deng to force Yang to retire.
5		Jiang Zemin 江泽民 (born 1926) Shanghai At-large	27 March 1993	15 March 1998	VIII - (68.4%)	Rong Yiren
			15 March 1998	15 March 2003	IX - (71.5%)	Hu Jintao
			Under his leadership, China experienced substantial developmental growth with reforms, saw the peaceful return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom and Macau from Portugal, and improved its relations with the outside world while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the government. Jiang has been criticized for being too concerned about his personal image at home, and too conciliatory towards Russia and the United States abroad.[5] Served as Mayor of Shanghai (1985–1989), Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China (1990–2005)
6		Hu Jintao 胡锦涛 (born 1942) Tibet At-large (until 2008) Jiangsu At-large (from 2008)	15 March 2003	15 March 2008	X - (72.9%)	Zeng Qinghong
			15 March 2008	14 March 2013	XI - (70.27%)	Xi Jinping
			During his term in office, Hu reintroduced state control in some sectors of the economy that were relaxed by the previous administration, and has been conservative with political reforms.[6] Along with his colleague, Premier Wen Jiabao, Hu presided over nearly a decade of consistent economic growth and development that cemented China as a major world power. He sought to improve socio-economic equality domestically through the Scientific Development Concept, which aimed to build a "Socialist Harmonious Society" that was prosperous and free of social conflict.[7] In foreign policy, Hu advocated for "China's peaceful development", pursuing soft power in international relations and a business-oriented approach to diplomacy. Through Hu's tenure, China's influence in Africa, Latin America, and other developing countries has increased.[8] Served as Vice President (1998–2003)
7		Xi Jinping 习近平 (born 1953) Shanghai At-large	14 March 2013	Incumbent	XII - (72.21%)	Li Yuanchao
			Served as Vice President (2008–2013).

Living Former Presidents

As of January 2016, there are two living former presidents:

See also

• Vice President of the People's Republic of China
• List of premiers of the People's Republic of China
• List of vice premiers of the People's Republic of China
• Paramount leader - a informal list of the those who have been considered the highest leader of the party and the People's Republic of China

References