List of heads of state of the People's Republic of China

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Not to be confused with List of Presidents of the Republic of China or List of premiers of the People's Republic of China.

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All the names on this list follow the Eastern order convention (family name first, personal name second).

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The president of the People's Republic of China was created in 1954 when the first 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 (head of legislature). The presidency was revived under the fourth constitution in 1982.

List of heads of state

Generations of leadership

Central People's Government (1949–1954)

Chairman of the Central People's Government
Portrait Name
(Lifespan)		 Term of office Vice Chairmen Paramount leader
– 100px Mao Zedong
毛泽东
(1893–1976)		 1 October 1949 27 September 1954 Zhu De
Liu Shaoqi
Soong Ching-ling
Li Jishen
Zhang Lan
Gao Gang		 Himself
Mao also held more powerful offices as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him the Paramount leader of China.

The 1st Constitution (1954–1975)

Chairman of the People's Republic of China
Portrait Name
(Lifespan)
Constituency		 Term of office NPC Vice Chairmen Paramount leader
1 100px Mao Zedong
毛泽东
(1893–1976)
Beijing At-large		 27 September 1954 27 April 1959 I Zhu De Mao Zedong
2 130x130px Liu Shaoqi
刘少奇
(1898–1969)
Beijing At-large		 27 April 1959 3 January 1965 II Soong Ching-ling
Dong Biwu
3 January 1965[1] 31 October 1968[2] III
acting 100px Soong Ching-ling
宋庆龄
(1893–1981)
Shanghai At-large		 31 October 1968 24 February 1972 III Dong Biwu
acting 133x133px Dong Biwu
董必武
(1886–1975)
Hubei At-large		 31 October 1968 17 January 1975 III Soong Ching-ling

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

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Further information: Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, 4th National People's Congress, and 5th National People's Congress
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Portrait Name
(Lifespan)
Constituency		 Term of office NPC Vice Chairmen Paramount leader
– Zhu De.jpg Zhu De
朱德
(1886–1976)
Sichuan At-large		 17 January 1975 6 July 1976 IV Soong Ching-ling[3]
Dong Biwu[3] (died 2 April 1975)
and others		 Mao Zedong
– 100px Soong Ching-ling
宋庆龄
(1893–1981)
Shanghai At-large		 6 July 1976 5 March 1978 Mao Zedong
Hua Guofeng
After Zhu De's death, Soong Ching-ling 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.[citation needed] She was a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang.
– Ye Jianying.jpg Ye Jianying
叶剑英
(1897–1986)
PLA		 5 March 1978 18 June 1983 V Soong Ching-ling
and others		 Hua Guofeng
Deng Xiaoping
Honorary Chairwoman of the People's Republic of China
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Constituency		 Term of office NPC Notes
– 100px Soong Ching-ling
宋庆龄
(1893–1981)
Shanghai At-large		 16 May 1981 29 May 1981 V Shortly before her death, Soong Ching-ling, a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, was named Honorary Chairwoman 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 Paramount leader
3 100px Li Xiannian
李先念
(1909–1992)
Hubei At-large		 18 June 1983 8 April 1988 VI — (62.5%) Ulanhu Deng Xiaoping
During Li's term, China undertook major reforms in foreign policy began opening to the outside world. Li, who took on an important role in the ouster of the Gang of Four, became the first President of the People's Republic to visit the United States. He was also the first state president to visit North Korea. In 1984, Li met with U.S. President Ronald Reagan during Reagan's visit to China, notably discussing the status of Taiwan with the President. After leaving office as President, Li was then named Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC.[4]
4 100px Yang Shangkun
杨尚昆
(1907–1998)
PLA		 9 April 1988 27 March 1993 VII — (66.8%) Wang Zhen Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin
An elder from the party's revolutionary days, Yang was a political survivor of the Cultural Revolution. During his presidency, Yang promoted economic reform but opposed political liberalization. Yang reached the height of his political career after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, but his organized opposition to Jiang Zemin's leadership led Deng to force Yang to retire. Yang served as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission between 1983 and 1993.
5 137x137px Jiang Zemin
江泽民
(1926–2022)
Shanghai At-large		 27 March 1993 15 March 1998 VIII — (68.4%) Rong Yiren Himself
15 March 1998 15 March 2003 IX — (71.5%) Hu Jintao
Once the mayor and party secretary of Shanghai, Jiang's assumption of the presidency in 1993 marked a return to the centralization of major titles at the national level – Jiang also held the more powerful offices of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 1989. Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced substantial developmental growth with continued reforms, oversaw the handover 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 was criticized for being too concerned about his personal image at home, and too conciliatory towards Russia and the United States abroad.[5]
6 Hu Jintao at White House 2011.jpg 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 Himself
15 March 2008 14 March 2013 XI — (70.27%) Xi Jinping
Hu, long having been anointed by Deng as Jiang's successor, took over the presidency in 2003, and also held the offices of General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Hu presided over nearly a decade of consistent economic growth and a relatively smooth recovery from the Global Financial Crisis. China emerged as a major world power during Hu's term, as China began taking on a more prominent role globally, such as at the G20 and global efforts at combating climate change. Hu's chief domestic focus was building a more egalitarian society focused on improving living standards for disadvantaged populations.[6] During Hu's tenure, China's influence in Africa, Latin America, and other developing countries increased.[7]
7 135x135px Xi Jinping
习近平
(born 1953)
Shanghai At-large (until 2018)
Inner Mongolia At-large (from 2018)		 14 March 2013 17 March 2018 XII — (72.21%) Li Yuanchao Himself
17 March 2018 Incumbent XIII — (71.10%) Wang Qishan
Xi became President in 2013, and also held the offices of General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2012. Xi increased the profile of the office of president in foreign affairs, for example receiving other heads of state during the 2015 China Victory Day Parade, going on high-profile visits to the United Kingdom and the United States, and making an important address at the Global Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Under his leadership, Xi strengthened mass surveillance and launched Xinjiang internment camps. Xi presided over anti-corruption campaign. In foreign policy, Xi advocated for "Wolf warrior diplomacy". Term limits for the president were removed in 2018.

Timeline

Living former presidents

As of May 2024, there is only one living former president: Hu Jintao. The most recent death of a former president was in 2022 when Jiang Zemin (from 1993 to 2003) died at age of 96 years old.

President Term of office Date of birth Image
Hu Jintao 2003–2013 (1942-12-21) December 21, 1942 (age 81) Hu Jintao at White House 2011.jpg

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Tomoyuki Kojima. China's Omnidirectional Diplomacy: Cooperation with all, Emphasis on Major Powers. Asia-Pacific Review, 1469–2937, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2001
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ World Savvy Monitor: China and the World - A foreign policy overview[permanent dead link]

See also

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