Tsai Ing-wen

蔡英文
Republic of China state institutions Nationalism Taiwan Taiwan 1956–

First woman president of the Republic of China, who led the DPP back to power

Born in Taipei in 1956 to a father of Hakka descent and a mother of the Indigenous Paiwan people, she graduated in law from National Taiwan University, took a master's in law at Cornell and a doctorate in law at the London School of Economics, and became a law professor. Under Lee Teng-hui she worked on trade negotiations and as a National Security Council adviser and was one of the chief drafters of the "special state-to-state relations" doctrine; under Chen Shui-bian she chaired the Mainland Affairs Council as a nonpartisan, and joined the Democratic Progressive Party in 2004. She took over the DPP after its 2008 defeat and rebuilt it, lost the 2012 presidential election to Ma Ying-jeou, and won the 2016 election by a landslide to become the first woman president. Re-elected in 2020, she served until 2024, and has been described as a Taiwanese nationalist.

Also known as: Cai Yingwen

Activities and affiliations

Career Timeline