Hunan military governor who became Chairman of the National Government and the first President of the Executive Yuan
Born in Hangzhou in 1880, the son of the Qing minister Tan Zhonglin, he came first in the last metropolitan examination of the Qing in 1904. A constitutionalist close to Liang Qichao, he became speaker of the Hunan provincial assembly in 1909. After the Xinhai Revolution he became military governor of Hunan and joined the Kuomintang in 1912, but Yuan Shikai removed him after the Second Revolution. Back in power after Yuan's death, he led Hunan against the Beiyang Army in the Constitutional Protection Movement of 1917, and on rejoining the Kuomintang in 1922 he became home minister under Sun Yat-sen. Chairman of the National Government from February 1928 as the Northern Expedition ended, he handed the post to Chiang Kai-shek in October and became the first President of the Executive Yuan. He died in office of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1930.
Also known as: Tan Yen-kai
Activities and affiliations
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1912–1930
Political and party leadership
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1928
Republic of China state institutionsChairman of the National GovernmentHeads of state, government and party of ChinaMain
Political and party leadership -
1928–1930
Republic of China state institutionsPresident of the Executive YuanHeads of state, government and party of China
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1904Top candidate in the metropolitan examination; Hanlin Academy compiler
- 1909Speaker of the Hunan provincial assembly
- 1911Military governor of Hunan
- 1912Joined the Kuomintang; head of its Hunan branch
- 1916.08.03Governor and acting military governor of Hunan
- 1922Rejoined the Kuomintang; home minister of the generalissimo headquarters
- 1925Commander of the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army
- 1926.03Acting Chairman of the Guangzhou National Government
- 1928.02.07–10.10Chairman of the National Government
- 1928.10.25–1930.09.22President of the Executive Yuan