Presidents Of Taiwan Since 1948

Taiwan is a country in Eastern Asia with a semi-presidential system of government. Presidents of Taiwan are the country's Head of State and Commander-in-Chief and appoint Premiers (Executive of Yuan) as well as nominating persons to other branches of government. The leader of the country in Taiwan is also given the power to dissolve the legislature. On January 16, 2016, Taiwan elected the first female president in the history of the country. The president and the vice are elected for a four-year term and eligible for a second term. 

Presidents Of Taiwan Since 1948

Chiang Kai-shek (1948-1975)

Chiang Kai-Shek was a political and military leader who joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1918 and later took the leadership of the party in 1925. He expelled the Communist members out of the party and led a successful unification of China. The civil war of 1946 saw the victory of the Communist Party led by Mao, and Chiang and his KMT party fled to Taiwan. He became the first president of Taiwan in 1948 and many countries recognized Chiang as the legitimate government leader of China, as he controlled China’s seat in the UN until his death in 1975. He established the bath to economic modernization of Taiwan.

Yen Chia-Kan (1975-1978)

Also referred to as C.K.Yen, the Taiwan politician and the successor of Chiang Kai served in the presidential office for the remaining term of three years. Chia-Kan was born in Jiangsu province in 1905. He obtained a degree in Chemistry from Saint John’s University in Shanghai, 1926. Yen served as the minister of finance, minister of economic affairs, and later in 1963 became the prime minister of Taiwan province. Yen was a member of KMT party and was elected the vice president in 1966 and re-elected again in 1972. He became the president in 1975 upon the death of Chiang Kai-shek. He died at the age of 88 in Tapei City and was buried in Wuchih Mountain Military Cemetery.

Ma Ying-jeou (2008-2016)

Ma Ying-jeou was born on July 13, 1950, in Hong Kong. He earned his degree in LL.B from National Taiwan University in 1972. He once served as a minister of Justice from February 27, 1993, to June 10, 1996. Ma Ying also served as a lieutenant commander for two years from 1972- 1974. From 1998 to 2006 Ma Ying served as the mayor of Taipei and a chairman of KMT also called Kuomintang in select years between 2005 -2014. He ran for the office of the presidency and won by a popular vote of 58.4% in 2008. His second term started in 2012. During his term in office, Taiwan saw improved social attachment with Mainland China and registered increased economic growth.

Tsai Ing-wen from 2016

Tsai Ing-Wen is the current president of the Republic of China and made a world record of becoming the first female president in the history of this country. She was born on August 31, 1956, in P'ing-Tung County. She is a politician and an educator, a member of the DPP (Democratic, progressive party). Tsai taught law at various universities from 1984 to 2000. Despite her loss in running for various political seats, she never gave up. She ran for office again after the defeat in 2012 and won the office on May 20, 2016. Tsai Ing-Wen Promised to maintain cordial associations with the Mainland China. Of the seven presidents of Taiwan who have governed the country, only four of them are living among them include current president (Wen), Lee Teng-hui, Ma Ying-jeou, and Chen Shui- bian.

Current situation

Since the end of civil war in 1949, China has asserted sovereignty over Taiwan. China has claimed that other countries should not have official relations with both Taiwan and China and as a result, Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with only a couple of countries. The US has been a close ally with Taiwan since Chiang Kai-shek fled the Communist party and settled in Taiwan. Despite its size in geographical area and the diplomatic isolation, Taiwan is among the big traders in Asia. Its economic achievement is a miracle and has stood tall in the world to become a leading producer of computer technology.