Chiang Kai-shek Elected President

Date: May 20, 1948 • Location: Nanjing, China

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.

Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who was President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975 and the head of the Nationalist government from 1925 to 1948. As the de facto leader of the Republic of China (ROC), he ruled the country through World War II and oversaw the relocation of its government to Taiwan following defeat in the Chinese Civil War.