President of the People's Republic of China

The President of the People's Republic of China (Chinese: 中华人民共和国主席 pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Zhǔxí, or abbreviated Guojia-Zhuxi ????) is the head of state of the People's Republic of China. The office was created by the 1982 Constitution. Formally, the President is elected by the National People's Congress in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution. In practice, this election falls into the category of 'single-candidate' elections. The candidate is recommended by the Presidium of the National People's Congress.

The History of the Presidency

Originally, in the constitution of 1954, the President (or Chairman) of the PRC was intended to be very powerful, serving both as the Head of State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The president had special powers to call upon emergency meetings during a crisis or concerns of national security. This was not a problem during Mao Zedong's tenure as Head of State due to the fact that he concurrently served as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. However, when Liu Shaoqi was President, it was evident in that he was little more than a figurehead. The most notorious example of the disregard for the position was shown during the Cultural Revolution when President Liu Shaoqi was arrested and humiliated by the Red Guards.

Related Topics:
1954 - Head of State - Commander-in-Chief - Mao Zedong - Central Military Commission - Liu Shaoqi - Cultural Revolution - Red Guards

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During the period from 1969-1982, the presidency was abolished mainly due to the arrest of the President Liu Shaoqi. The duties associated with the Head of State were passed to the Chairman of the National People's Congress. The exact reason why Mao Zedong refused to reinstate the presidency was unclear, however it is now known that Mao did not want his political struggle with Liu Shaoqi to be remembered as his attempt to claim the title of the presidency for himself. Lin Biao, then China's number two figure, advocated for the reinstatement of the position of President, with Mao taking the position and himself becoming Vice-President. Mao later considered this to be a threat to his power, as the Vice-President can legally succeed the President in the event of the latter's death. During the early 1980s, it became clearer that China needed a person to serve as the Head of State. Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen and former vice-chairwoman of PRC, was named to be the Honorary President of the PRC before the passage of the constitution of 1982.

Related Topics:
1969 - 1982 - Lin Biao - 1980s - Soong Ching-ling - Sun Yat-sen

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In the constitution of 1982, the President was conceived of as a figurehead head of state with actual state power resting in the hands of the Premier of the People's Republic of China and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China both of which were conceived of as being separate people; the President will only hold the office of the President and not intervene directly in matters of the State Council or the Party. In the original 1982 constitution plan, the Party would develop policy, the state would execute it, and the power would be divided to prevent a cult of personality from forming as it did with the case of Mao Zedong.

Related Topics:
Premier of the People's Republic of China - General Secretary of the Communist Party of China - Party - Cult of personality

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Subsequent events caused the office to have much larger powers than was originally intended. In 1989, the President Yang Shangkun was able in cooperation with the then Chairman of the Central Military Commission Deng Xiaoping to use the office of the President to declare martial law in Beijing and order the military crackdown of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. This was in direct opposition to the wishes of the Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang and probably a majority of the Politburo Standing Committee.

Related Topics:
1989 - Yang Shangkun - Central Military Commission - Deng Xiaoping - Martial law - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 - Zhao Ziyang - Politburo Standing Committee

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In the 1990s, the experiment of separating party and state posts, which led to bitter division, was terminated, and in 1992, the post of President was taken by Jiang Zemin who as General Secretary and chief of the Central Military Commission has continued to make the office of the President a powerful position. When Jiang Zemin stepped down in 2003, the offices of General Secretary and President were once again both given to one man, Vice President Hu Jintao.

Related Topics:
1990s - 1992 - Jiang Zemin - 2003 - Vice President - Hu Jintao

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