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

The position of state representative is the most senior state office of the People's Republic of China, with a role similar to a ceremonial head of state and is the second to eighth highest-ranking position in Chinese history, always under the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The state representative is often, but not always, also the top leader of China. Under the current constitution, which does not officially define any office as the head of state, the state representative is the president. The role 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 state representative 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 of state representatives

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
–		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 Zedong 毛泽东 (1893–1976)		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


S. No.	Name (Lifespan) Constituency	Term of office		NPC	Vice Chairmen	Paramount leader
1	Mao Zedong 毛泽东 (1893–1976) Beijing At-large	27 September 1954	27 April 1959	I	Zhu De	Mao Zedong
2	Liu Shaoqi 刘少奇 (1898–1969) Beijing At-large	27 April 1959	3 January 1965	II	Soong Ching-ling Dong Biwu
2	Liu Shaoqi 刘少奇 (1898–1969) Beijing At-large	3 January 1965^[1]	31 October 1968^[2]	III	Soong Ching-ling Dong Biwu
acting	Soong Ching-ling 宋庆龄 (1893–1981) Shanghai At-large	31 October 1968	24 February 1972	III	Dong Biwu
acting	Dong Biwu 董必武 (1886–1975) Hubei At-large	24 February 1972	17 January 1975	III	Soong Ching-ling

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

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 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
–	Soong Ching-ling 宋庆龄 (1893–1981) Shanghai At-large	6 July 1976	5 March 1978	IV		Mao Zedong Hua Guofeng
–	Soong Ching-ling 宋庆龄 (1893–1981) Shanghai At-large	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 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
–		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	Li Xiannian 李先念 (1909–1992) Hubei At-large	18 June 1983	8 April 1988	VI — (62.5%)	Ulanhu	Deng Xiaoping
3	Li Xiannian 李先念 (1909–1992) Hubei At-large	During Li's term, China undertook major reforms in foreign policy, beginning to open up to the outside world. Li, who took on an important role in the ousting 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	Yang Shangkun 杨尚昆 (1907–1998) PLA	8 April 1988	27 March 1993	VII — (66.8%)	Wang Zhen	Deng Xiaoping Jiang Zemin
4	Yang Shangkun 杨尚昆 (1907–1998) PLA	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 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, 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	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	Himself
		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 the reform and opening up, 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 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	Himself
		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 2008 financial crisis. China emerged as a major world power during Hu's term.^{[citation needed]}
7	Xi Jinping 习近平 (born 1953) Shanghai At-large (until 2018) Inner Mongolia At-large (2018–2023) Jiangsu At-large (from 2023)	14 March 2013	17 March 2018	XII — (72.21%)	Li Yuanchao	Himself
		17 March 2018	10 March 2023	XIII — (71.10%)	Wang Qishan
		10 March 2023	Incumbent	XIV — (70.60%)	Han Zheng
		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.

Statistics

#	President	Date of birth	Age at ascension (first term)	Time in office (total)	Age at retirement (last term)	Date of death	Longevity
1	Zedong, MaoMao Zedong	1893122626 December 1893(26 December 1893)	60 27560 years, 275 days	04 2124 years, 212 days	64 12264 years, 122 days	197609099 September 1976	30,20782 years, 258 days
2	Shaoqi, LiuLiu Shaoqi	1898112424 November 1898(24 November 1898)	60 15460 years, 154 days	09 1879 years, 187 days	69 34269 years, 342 days	1969111212 November 1969	25,92070 years, 353 days
Presidency vacant
Acting	Biwu, DongDong Biwu	188603055 March 1886(5 March 1886)	85 35685 years, 356 days	02 3272 years, 327 days	88 31888 years, 318 days	197504022 April 1975	32,53489 years, 28 days
Hon.	Ching-ling, SoongSoong Ching-ling	1893012727 January 1893(27 January 1893)	83 16188 years, 109 days	01 242Honorary^[6]^[7]	– 85 037	1981052929 May 1981	32,26388 years, 122 days
Presidency abolished
3	Xiannian, LiLi Xiannian	1909062323 June 1909(23 June 1909)	73 36073 years, 360 days	04 2954 years, 295 days	78 29078 years, 290 days	1992062121 June 1992	30,31482 years, 364 days
4	Shangkun, YangYang Shangkun	190708033 August 1907(3 August 1907)	80 25080 years, 250 days	04 3524 years, 352 days	85 23685 years, 236 days	1998091414 September 1998	33,28091 years, 42 days
5	Zemin, JiangJiang Zemin	1926081717 August 1926(17 August 1926)	66 22266 years, 222 days	09 3539 years, 353 days	76 21076 years, 210 days	2022113030 November 2022	35,16996 years, 105 days
6	Jintao, HuHu Jintao	1942122121 December 1942(21 December 1942)	60 08460 years, 84 days	09 3649 years, 365 days	70 08470 years, 84 days	Living	30,51083 years, 194 days (Living)
7	Jinping, XiXi Jinping	1953061515 June 1953(15 June 1953)	59 years, 272 days	13 years, 111 days (Incumbent)	Incumbent	Living	26,68173 years, 18 days (Living)

Election results

No.	Year	Electoral college	Total Seats	President-elect	Voters	For	Against	Abstain	Result
1	1954	1st National People's Congress	1226	Mao Zedong	1210	1210	0	0	Elected
2	1959	2nd National People's Congress	1235	Liu Shaoqi					Elected
2	1964	3rd National People's Congress	3040	Liu Shaoqi					Elected
N/A	1975	4th National People's Congress	2864	Presidency vacant
N/A	1978	5th National People's Congress	3497	Presidency abolished
3	1983	6th National People's Congress	2978	Li Xiannian					Elected
4	1988	7th National People's Congress	2970	Yang Shangkun	2970	2812	124	34	Elected
5	1993	8th National People's Congress	2977	Jiang Zemin	2918	2858	35	25	Elected
5	1998	9th National People's Congress	2983	Jiang Zemin	2947	2882	36	29	Elected
6	2003	10th National People's Congress	2985	Hu Jintao	2944	2937	4	3	Elected
6	2008	11th National People's Congress	2987	Hu Jintao	2964	2956	3	5	Elected
7	2013	12th National People's Congress	2987	Xi Jinping	2956	2952	1	3	Elected
	2018	13th National People's Congress	2980		2970	2970	0	0	Elected
	2023	14th National People's Congress	2977		2952	2952	0	0	Elected

Timeline

References

↑ "中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会公告" [Announcement of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 3 January 1965. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
↑ "中国共产党第八届扩大的第十二次中央委员会全会公报" [Communiqué of the Twelfth Plenary Session of the Eighth Enlarged Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 3 January 1965. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
1 2 Sheng (盛), Yonghua (永華) (2006). Chronological Biography of Soong Ching-ling, 1893-1981 [宋慶齡年譜 1893-1981], in Chinese. Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing [廣東人民出版社]. p. 2:1799. ISBN 7218052649.
↑ Anderson, Kurt (7 May 1984). "History Beckons Again". Time. Archived from the original on January 18, 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
↑ Kojima, Tomoyuki (November 2001). "China's Omnidirectional Diplomacy: Cooperation with all, Emphasis on Major Powers". Asia-Pacific Review. 8 (2): 81–95. doi:10.1080/09544120120098708. ISSN 1343-9006. S2CID 154907777.
↑ "历届中华人民共和国主席". www.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
↑ "中华人民共和国国务院公报一九八一年第十一号" (PDF). 中华人民共和国国务院 State Council of the People's Republic of China. pp. 327–328. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-03.

[1] "中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会公告" [Announcement of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 3 January 1965. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 2013-11-24.

[2] "中国共产党第八届扩大的第十二次中央委员会全会公报" [Communiqué of the Twelfth Plenary Session of the Eighth Enlarged Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]. People's Daily (in Chinese). 3 January 1965. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-11-24.

[Sheng-3] 1 2 Sheng (盛), Yonghua (永華) (2006). Chronological Biography of Soong Ching-ling, 1893-1981 [宋慶齡年譜 1893-1981], in Chinese. Guangzhou: Guangdong People's Publishing [廣東人民出版社]. p. 2:1799. ISBN 7218052649.

[4] Anderson, Kurt (7 May 1984). "History Beckons Again". Time. Archived from the original on January 18, 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2011.

[5] Kojima, Tomoyuki (November 2001). "China's Omnidirectional Diplomacy: Cooperation with all, Emphasis on Major Powers". Asia-Pacific Review. 8 (2): 81–95. doi:10.1080/09544120120098708. ISSN 1343-9006. S2CID 154907777.

[6] "历届中华人民共和国主席". www.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-03.

[7] "中华人民共和国国务院公报一九八一年第十一号" (PDF). 中华人民共和国国务院 State Council of the People's Republic of China. pp. 327–328. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-03.

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