Chairman of the Kuomintang

The chairman of the Kuomintang is the leader of the Kuomintang in the Republic of China. The position used to be titled as President (1912–1914), Premier (1919–1925), Chairman of the Central Executive Committee (1925–1938), Director-General (1938–1975), and Chairman (from 1975). The post is currently held by Cheng Li-wun, who assumed the post on 1 November 2025. The chairman is now directly elected by party members for a term of four years and may be re-elected for a second term.

Chairman of the Kuomintang
中國國民黨主席
Emblem of the Kuomintang
Flag of the Kuomintang
Incumbent Cheng Li-wun since 1 November 2025
Central Committee of the Kuomintang
Type	Party leader
Term length	Fours years, renewable once consecutively
Precursor	President (1912–1914) Premier (1919–1925) Chairman of the Central Executive Committee (1925–1938) Director-General (1938–1975)
Inaugural holder	Sun Yat-sen
Formation	25 August 1912 (1912-08-25)
Deputy	Vice Chairman of the Kuomintang

List of party leaders

  denotes acting leader.

Presidents (1912–1914)

Order	Portrait	Name	Term of Office
1		Sun Yat-sen	25 August 1912	8 July 1914
—		Song Jiaoren	25 August 1912	22 March 1913

Sun Yat-sen served as Premier of the Chinese Revolutionary Party between 8 July 1914 and 10 October 1919.

Premier (1919–1925)

Order	Portrait	Name	Term of Office		Party Congress
(1)		Sun Yat-sen	10 October 1919	30 January 1924
			30 January 1924	12 March 1925 (Died in office)	1st

Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee (1925–1938)

Collective leadership

Following the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925, the Central Executive Committee became the collective leadership of the Kuomintang. On 19 May 1926, the Central Executive Committee resolved to establish chairmanship. In March 1927, the collective leadership of the committee was revived, the chairmanship was thus abolished until 7 December 1935.

Members of the Committee include:

1925–1926

1927–1935

Tan Pingshan (12 March 1925 – 19 May 1926) Dai Jitao (12 March 1925 – 16 January 1926) Liao Zhongkai (12 March 1925 – 20 August 1925, died in office) Wang Jingwei (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Tan Yankai (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Chiang Kai-shek (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Lin Boqu (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Hu Hanmin (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Chen Gongbo (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Kan Nai-kuang (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926) Yang Pao'an (22 January 1926 – 19 May 1926)

Chiang Kai-shek (1 March 1927 – 7 December 1935) Wang Jingwei (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928, 28 December 1931 – 7 December 1935) Tan Yankai (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928) Sun Fo (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928, 21 September 1928 – 7 December 1935) Ku Meng-yu (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928, 28 December 1931 – 7 December 1935) Tan Pingshan (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928) Chen Gongbo (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928) Xu Qian (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928) Wu Yu-chang (1 March 1927 – 7 February 1928) Dai Jitao (7 February 1928 – 28 December 1931) Ding Weifen (7 February 1928 – 28 December 1931) Yu Youren (7 February 1928 – 7 December 1935) Tan Yankai (7 February 1928 – 28 December 1931) Hu Hanmin (21 September 1928 – 7 December 1935) Chen Guofu (28 March 1929 – 7 December 1935) Yeh Chu-cheng (28 March 1929 – 7 December 1935) Ju Zheng (28 December 1931 – 7 December 1935)

Order	Portrait	Name	Term of Office		Party Congress
—	Collective leadership of Central Executive Committee		12 March 1925	19 May 1926	1st
2		Zhang Renjie	19 May 1926	6 July 1926	2nd
—			6 July 1926	11 March 1927
3		Chiang Kai-shek	6 July 1926	11 March 1927
—	Collective leadership of Central Executive Committee		11 March 1927	28 March 1929
			28 March 1929	23 November 1931	3rd
			23 November 1931	23 November 1935	4th
			23 November 1935	7 December 1935	5th
4		Hu Hanmin	7 December 1935	12 May 1936 (Died in office)
—		Chiang Kai-shek	12 May 1936	1 April 1938

Director-General (1938–1975)

Order	Portrait	Name	Term of Office		Party Congress
—		Chiang Kai-shek	1 April 1938	17 May 1945	Extraordinary
(3)			17 May 1945	20 October 1952	6th
			20 October 1952	23 October 1957	7th
			23 October 1957	22 November 1963	8th
			22 November 1963	9 April 1969	9th
			9 April 1969	5 April 1975 (Died in office)	10th

Chairpersons (from 1975)

Order	Portrait	Name	Term of Office		Mandate	Party Congress	Notes
—		Chiang Ching-kuo	28 April 1975	16 November 1976	Elected by Central Executive Committee	10th	As Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
5			16 November 1976	4 April 1981	1976 (unopposed)	11th
			4 April 1981	13 January 1988 (Died in office)	1981 (unopposed)	12th
—		Lee Teng-hui	27 January 1988	8 July 1988	Elected by Central Standing Committee		Resigned after 2000 presidential election defeat
6			8 July 1988	22 August 1993	1988 (unopposed)	13th
			22 August 1993	28 August 1997	1993 (unopposed)	14th
			28 August 1997	24 March 2000 (Resigned)	1997 (unopposed)	15th
—		Lien Chan	24 March 2000	18 June 2000	Elected by Central Standing Committee
7			18 June 2000	30 July 2001	2000
			30 July 2001	19 August 2005	2001	16th
8		Ma Ying-jeou	19 August 2005	13 February 2007 (Resigned)	2005	17th	Resigned amid corruption charges
—		Wu Po hsiung	13 February 2007	14 March 2007 (Resigned)	Vice Chair as acting Chair		Resigned to run in the 2007 KMT chairmanship by-election
—		Chiang Pin-kung	14 March 2007	11 April 2007	Vice Chair as acting Chair
9		Wu Po-hsiung	11 April 2007	17 October 2009	2007
(8)		Ma Ying-jeou	17 October 2009	29 September 2013	2009	18th	Resigned after 2014 local election defeat
			29 September 2013	3 December 2014	2013	19th
—		Wu Den-yih	3 December 2014	19 January 2015	Vice Chair as acting Chair
10		Eric Chu Li-luan	19 January 2015	16 January 2016	2015		Resigned after 2016 presidential and legislative elections defeat
—		Huang Min-hui	16 January 2016	30 March 2016	Vice Chair as acting Chair
11		Hung Hsiu-chu	30 March 2016	3 July 2017 (Resigned)	2016		Resigned after re-election failed
—		Lin Junq-tzer	3 July 2017	19 August 2017	Vice Chair as acting Chair
12		Wu Den-yih	20 August 2017	15 January 2020	2017	20th	Resigned after 2020 presidential and legislative elections defeat
—		Lin Rong-te	15 January 2020	9 March 2020	Elected by Central Standing Committee		Member of Central Standing Committee, acting leader after vice chairmen resigned
13		Johnny Chiang Chi-chen	9 March 2020	5 October 2021	2020
(10)		Eric Chu Li-luan	5 October 2021	1 November 2025	2021	21st	Declined reelection
14		Cheng Li-wun	1 November 2025		2025	22nd

List of eternal and honorary leaders

• Eternal Premier: Sun Yat-sen
• Eternal Director-General: Chiang Kai-shek
• Honorary chairmen:
  • Lien Chan (2005–2015)
  • Wu Po-hsiung (2009–2015)

Timeline since 1975

See also

• List of leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party
• Secretary-General of the Kuomintang
• Leader of the Chinese Communist Party