First Lady of the Republic of China

The First Lady of the Republic of China refers to the wife of the President of the Republic of China.[1] Since 1949, the position has been based in Taiwan, where they are often called by the title of First Lady of Taiwan,[1] in addition to First Lady of the Republic of China (ROC).[1]

First Lady of Republic of China (Taiwan)
Incumbent Position vacant since 20 May 2016
Inaugural holder	Lu Muzhen (1912) Soong Mei-ling (1949)
Formation	1 January 1912

The position has been vacant since 2016, as incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, the first woman to be elected to the presidency, is unmarried.[2]

First Ladies (before the 1947 Constitution)

Spouse		Image	President	Took office	Left office
1	Lu Muzhen (30 July 1867 – 7 September 1952)		Sun Yat-sen	1 January 1912	10 March 1912
2	Yu Yishang (1872-1956)		Yuan Shikai	10 March 1912	6 June 1916
3	Oei Hui-lan (2 December 1889 – 1992)		V. K. Wellington Koo	1 October 1926	16 June 1927
4	Soong Mei-ling (March 5, 1897 or 1898 – October 23, 2003)		Chiang Kai-shek	1 August 1943	20 May 1948

First Ladies of the Republic of China on Taiwan (after the 1947 Constitution; Taiwan after 1949)

Since 1949, individuals in this position have been known as the First Lady of Taiwan, in addition to the First Lady of the Republic of China.[1]

No.	Spouse	Image	Tenure	Age at tenure start	President	Notes
4	Soong Mei-ling 宋美齡 Birth country:  Qing dynasty (5 March 1898 – 23 October 2003)		20 May 1948 – 5 April 1975	50 years, 76 days	Chiang Kai-shek m. December 1, 1927	Also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang[3]
5	Liu Chi-chun 劉期純 Birth country:  Qing dynasty (1908-24 December 1999)		6 April 1975 – 20 May 1978		Yen Chia-kan m. December 14, 1924
6	Chiang Fang-liang 方良 Faina Vakhreva Birth country:  Russia (present day  Belarus) (15 May 1916 – 15 December 2004)		20 May 1978 – 13 January 1988	62 years, 5 days	Chiang Ching-kuo m. March 15, 1935	Born Faina Epatcheva Vahaleva (蔣方良) in Orsha in the Russian Empire, (present-day Belarus). [4] She met her husband, Chiang Ching-kuo, (son of Chiang Kai-shek) while both were working at the Ural Heavy Machinery Factory in Sverdlovsk (present-day Yekaterinburg).[4] They moved to China following the Xi'an Incident, where Epatcheva adopted the Chinese names Chiang Fang-liang or Faina Chiang Fang-liang.[4] She and her husband later fled from Chengdu to Taiwan in 1949.[4] She avoided politics during her time as first lady.[1]
7	Tseng Wen-hui 曾文惠 Birth country: Japanese Taiwan (born 31 March 1926)		13 January 1988 – 20 May 2000	61 years, 288 days	Lee Teng-hui m. February 9, 1949	Wife of the first democratically elected president of Taiwan (ROC).[1]
8	Wu Shu-chen 吳淑珍 (born 11 July 1953)		20 May 2000 – 20 May 2008	46 years, 314 days	Chen Shui-bian m. February 20, 1975	Member of the Legislative Yuan from 1987 until 1990.
9	Christine Chow Ma (Chow Mei-ching) 周美青 Birth country:  Hong Kong (born 30 November 1952)		20 May 2008 – 20 May 2016	55 years, 172 days	Ma Ying-jeou m. August 20, 1977	Born Chow Mei-ching (周美青) in British Hong Kong on November 30, 1952. Chow headed of the legal department of Mega International Commercial Bank, where she worked as a lawyer for more than 20 years, prior to becoming first lady.[5]
–	None		20 May 2016 – Incumbent	Vacant	Tsai Ing-wen unmarried	President Tsai Ing-wen, the first woman to be elected to the presidency and first female head of state in Taiwan's history, is unmarried.[2][6]

Longevity

Rank	First Lady	Born	Died	Age
1	Soong Mei-ling	March 5, 1898	October 23, 2003	105 years, 232 days
2	Oei Hui-lan	2 December 1889	1992	102 years, 364 days to 103 years, 29 days
3	Tseng Wen-hui	31 Mar 1926	Alive	94 years, 315 days
4	Liu Chi-chun	1908	24 December 1999	90 years, 358 days to 91 years, 327 days
5	Chiang Fang-liang	15 May 1916	15 Dec 2004	88 years, 214 days
6	Lu Muzhen	30 July 1867	7 September 1952	85 years, 39 days
7	Yu Yishang	1872	1956	84 years, 334 days to 84 years, 365 days
8	Christine Chow Ma	30 Nov 1952	Alive	68 years, 71 days
9	Wu Shu-chen	11 Jul 1953	Alive	67 years, 213 days

See also

• List of Presidents of the Republic of China
• First Family of the Republic of China

References

1. Ko, Shu-ling (2010-05-17). "FEATURE: ROC's first ladies play varying roles". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
2. Liu, Shan-Jan Sarah (2010-02-10). "Taiwan's first female president easily won reelection. Are Asian women taking note?". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
3. Faison, Seth (2003-10-24). "Madame Chiang, 105, Chinese Leader's Widow, Dies". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
4. Bowring, Philip (2020-03-20). "BOOK REVIEW: China's Russian Princess". Asia Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
5. Ko, Shu-ling (2008-03-30). "Newsmaker: Chow Mei-ching: the career-minded first lady". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
6. "President Tsai biography". Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-30.