President of Yuan

President of the People's Republic of Yuan
中华人民共和国主席
National Emblem of the People's Republic of Yuan
Incumbent Qin Chen since 15 July 2022
Style	Mr/Madam President (主席) (informal) His/Her Excellency (阁下) (diplomatic)
Status	Head of state
Residence	People's Palace, Shanghan
Nominator	Communist Party of Yuan
Appointer	National People's Congress
Term length	Five years, renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the People's Republic of Yuan
Precursor	Chairman of the People's Republic of Yuan
Inaugural holder	Deng Zhelan
Formation	6 May 1908 (1908-05-06)
Abolished	1944

The president of the People's Republic of Yuan, also known as the Chairman and the General Secretary/Secretary-General, is the head of state of the People's Republic of Yuan. The role of the president alone until recently was largely ceremonial with limited power, though as a matter of convention the presidency is held simultaneously by the general secretary of the Yuan Communist Party, who also serves as the chairman of the Central Military Commission, thus is often the paramount leader of Yuan. The presidency is officially regarded as an institution of the state rather than an administrative post; Under the constitution, the president serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress (NPC), the highest organ of state power and the legislature, and is not legally vested to take executive action on his own prerogative.

The presidency was first established in the Constitution in 1908 and held by Deng Zhelan. The current President is Qin Chen, who was ushered into power after the Assembly ousted Xi Jingyi, who came to power in 2014 and abolished term limits.

Powers and duties

Under the current constitution, instated in 1992 with minor revisions in later years, the president has the power to promulgate laws, select and dismiss the premier (head of government) as well as the ministers of the State Council, grant presidential pardons, declares a state of emergency, issue mass mobilization orders, and issue state honours. In addition, the president names and dismisses ambassadors to foreign countries, signs and annuls treaties with foreign entities. According to the Constitution, all of these powers require the approval or confirmation of the National People's Congress. The president also conducts state visits on behalf of the People's Republic. Under the constitution the "state visit" clause is the only presidential power that does not stipulate any form of oversight from the National People's Congress. As the vast majority of presidential powers are dependent on the ratification of the NPC, the president is, in essence, a symbolic post without any direct say in the governance of state. It is therefore conceived to mainly function as a symbolic institution of the state rather than an office with true executive powers.

List of Presidents

Presidents of Yuan
No.	Portrait	Name (Years in office)	Term of office		Notes
1		Deng Zhelan (1908-1922)	14 May 1908	11 January 1922
2		Zuan Xiang (1922-1927)	11 January 1922	16 April 1927
3		Zuan Qirui (1927-1931)	16 April 1927	2 December 1931
4		Gao Zedong (1931-1949)	2 December 1931	21 March 1949
5		Hu Xiuying (1949-1955)	21 March 1949	4 January 1955
6		Wan Liang (1955-1972)	4 January 1955	30 August 1972
7		Yao Lingxin (1972-1978)	30 August 1972	13 August 1978
8		Han Hanying (1978-1987)	13 August 1978	6 November 1987
9		Hu Mintao (1987-1996)	6 November 1987	3 June 1996
10		Zhen Yijun (1996-2014)	3 June 1996	4 June 2014
12		Xi Jingyi (2014-2022)	4 June 2014	15 July 2022
13		Qin Chen (2022-present)	15 July 2014