It is intended to briefly describe the names and election methods of the heads of state of the Republic of China since the founding of the Republic of China in 1912 in several phases, including the Provisional President of the Republic of China under the Provisional Government system of the Republic of China, the President of the Republic of China under the Beiyang Government System, the Chairman of the National Government Committee under the National Government system of the Republic of China, and the The President of the Republic of China under the Government System of the Republic of China after the enactment of the Constitution.
During the Beiyang government
Beiyang Government In October 1913, Yuan Shikai was inaugurated as the first official president of the Republic of China. In June 1916, Yuan died of depression after claiming that he was not emperor. After Yuan's death, the Beiyang warlords became the de facto leaders of the government, the cabinets led by the president and the prime minister had little real power, and important decisions were mostly negotiated by the major warlords. After the resignation of the third president, Cao Kun, in 1924, the post of president was handed over to the State Council for a long time, and no second election was held. In 1924, Duan Qirui, the leader of the Anhui warlords, reorganized the government, established himself as a temporary ruler, and abolished the post of president. In April 1926, Duan was expelled, and the following month, Yan Huiqing, who succeeded former premier and acting interim governor Hu Weide, stepped down as prime minister, restored the post of grand president and assumed the post of grand president in the name of the State Council. The post of Grand President was abolished again after Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Warlords, established himself as Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy.
List of heads of state during the Beiyang government:
Grand President (1913–1924)
1st Yuan Shikai (1913.10.10-1916.06.06)
(Succeeded) Li Yuanhong (1916.06.07-1917.07.06)
(Agent) Feng Guozhang (1917.07.06-1918.10.10)
2nd Term Xu Shichang (1918.10.10-1922.06.02)
Zhou Ziqi (1922.06.02-1922.06.11)
(Reinstated) Li Yuanhong (1922.06.11-1923.06.13)
Gao Lingwei (1923.06.14-1923.10.10)
3rd Cao Kun (1923.10.10-1924.11.02)
Huang Gao (1924.11.02-1924.11.24)
Provisional government (1924–1926)
First Duan Qirui (1924.11.24-1926.04.20)
Hu Weide (1926.04.20-1926.05.13)
Grand President (reinstatement, 1926–1927)
Yan Huiqing (1926.05.13-1926.06.23); Du Xijue (1926.06.23-1926.10.01); Gu Weijun (1926.10.01-1927.06.16) Hu Weide (1927.06.16-1927.06.18)
Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy (1927–1928)
First Zhang Zuolin (1927.06.18-1928.06.03)