The Beiyang strongman who took over the 1911 revolution and tried to make himself emperor
Recalled after the 1911 Wuchang Uprising, he pressed both the Qing court and the revolutionaries, winning the emperor's abdication and the provisional presidency in 1912. He proclaimed a monarchy in December 1915, abdicated in March 1916, and died that June.
A soldier-official who built the Beiyang New Army in the late Qing. When the 1911 revolution broke out he pressed both the court and the revolutionaries, securing the Qing emperor’s abdication and his own installation as provisional president of the Republic in 1912. He then hollowed out parliament, dissolved the Kuomintang and, in late 1915, proclaimed himself emperor; provincial revolts forced him to cancel the monarchy in 1916, and he died months later. His death fractured the Beiyang army and opened the warlord era.
Career timeline
- 1901–1907Viceroy of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang
- 1912–1916President of the Republic of China
- 1915.12–1916.03Self-proclaimed emperor of the “Empire of China”
Patron of the restored monarchy and Metaxas dictatorship
On 4 August 1936, George II gave royal authorization to Metaxas as he suspended parliament and established the dictatorship.
George II was the Greek king who pursued the restoration and survival of the monarchy through successive political crises. After returning to the throne in 1935, he authorized Ioannis Metaxas's rise and the dictatorship established on 4 August 1936, joining royal authority to military authoritarianism. He maintained Greece's alignment with Britain during the war and opposed the Italian and German invasions, but his exiled government and post-liberation campaign for a royal return placed him in conflict with the resistance forces and left a contested political legacy. He died soon after returning to the throne in 1946.
Career timeline
- 1922–1924King of Greece, first reign
- 1935Returned as king after the restoration of the monarchy
- 1936–1941Head of state under the Metaxas regime
- 1940–1941Exercised supreme command of the Greek armed forces during the Axis invasion
- 1941–1944King associated with the government-in-exile based in London
- 1944–1946King in dispute over the post-liberation return, accepting a regency
- 1946–1947Returned as king and reigned until his death