Chiang Kai-shek

| term_start = 10 October 1943 | term_end = 20 May 1948
Acting: 1 August10 October 1943 | 1blankname = Vice Chairman | 1namedata = | predecessor = | successor = ''Position abolished'' | premier1 = | }} | term_start1 = 10 October 1928 | term_end1 = 15 December 1931 | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | office3 = 1st President of the Republic of China | premier3 = | | | | }} | vicepresident3 = | | }} | term_start3 = 1 March 1950 | term_end3 = 5 April 1975 | predecessor3 = (acting) | successor3 = | premier4 = | | }} | vicepresident4 = | term_start4 = 20 May 1948 | term_end4 = 21 January 1949 | predecessor4 = ''Position established'' | successor4 = (acting) | office5 = Premier of the National Government | president7 = | term_start7 = 20 November 1939 | vicepremier7 = H. H. Kung | term_end7 = 31 May 1945 | predecessor7 = | successor7 = | president8 = | term_start8 = 9 December 1935 | term_end8 = 1 January 1938 | vicepremier8 = H. H. Kung | predecessor8 = | successor8 = | term_start9 = 4 December 1930 | term_end9 = 15 December 1931 | vicepremier9 = | president9 = Himself | predecessor9 = | successor9 = (acting) | president6 = Himself | term_start6 = 1 March 1947 | term_end6 = 18 April 1947 | vicepremier6 = Weng Wenhao | predecessor6 = | office10 = Chairman of the Kuomintang | term_start10 = 12 May 1936 | term_end10 = 1 April 1938 | predecessor10 = | successor10 = Himself as Director-General | term_start11 = 6 July 1926 | term_end11 = 11 March 1927 | predecessor11 = | successor11 = and | office12 = Director-General of the Kuomintang | predecessor12 = ''Position established'' | successor12 = | term_start12 = 1 April 1938 | term_end12 = 5 April 1975 | deputy12 = | }} | office2 = Chairman of the Military Affairs Commission | term_start2 = 15 December 1931 | term_end2 = 31 May 1946 | predecessor2 = ''Position established'' | successor2 = ''Position abolished'' | birth_name = Chiang Jui-yüan | birth_date = | birth_place = Xikou, Zhejiang, China | death_date = | death_place = Taipei, Taiwan | restingplace = Cihu Mausoleum, Taoyuan | party = Kuomintang | alma_mater = | spouse = * * * }} | children = | signature = Chiang Kaishek Signature.svg | nickname = | "Red General" | "Big Gun" | "The Napoleon of China" }} | allegiance = | branch = | serviceyears = 1909–1975 | rank = Generalissimo}} | battles = | footnotes = | awards = Order of National Glory
Order of Blue Sky and White Sun
Order of the Sacred Tripod
Order of Brilliant Jade
Order of Propitious Clouds
Order of the Cloud and Banner
Order of Brilliant Star
Honour Sabre of the Awakened Lion | module = | module2 = | mi = | bpmf = ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄕˊ | poj = Chiúⁿ Kài-se̍k | y = Jéung Gaai-sehk | j = Zoeng2 gaai3 sek6 | hk = Cheung Kai-shek | ci = | lmz = Tsian Ka Zah | altname = Register name | t2 = 蔣周泰 | s2 = 蒋周泰 | p2 = Jiǎng Zhōutài | tp2 = Jiǎng Jhou-tài | gr2 = Jeang Joutay | mi2 = | w2 = | bpmf2 = ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄓㄡ ㄊㄞˋ | j2 = Zoeng2 zau1 taai3 | ci2 = | poj2 = Chiúⁿ Chiu-thài | lmz2 = Tsian Tseu Tha | altname3 = Milk name | t3 = 蔣瑞元 | s3 = 蒋瑞元 | p3 = Jiǎng Ruìyuán | tp3 = Jiǎng Ruèi-yuán | gr3 = Jeang Ruey'yuan | mi3 = | w3 = | bpmf3 = ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄖㄨㄟˋ ㄩㄢˊ | j3 = Zoeng2 seoi6 jyun4 | ci3 = | poj3 = Chiúⁿ Sūi-gôan | lmz3 = Tsian Zoe Yoe | altname4 = School name | t4 = 蔣志清 | s4 = 蒋志清 | p4 = Jiǎng Zhìqīng | tp4 = Jiǎng Jhìh-cing | gr4 = Jeang Jyhching | mi4 = | w4 = | bpmf4 = ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄓˋ ㄑㄧㄥ | j4 = Zoeng2 zi3 cing1 | ci4 = | poj4 = Chiúⁿ Chì-chheng | lmz4 = Tsian Tsy Tshin | altname5 = Adopted name | t5 = 蔣中正 | s5 = 蒋中正 | p5 = Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng | tp5 = Jiǎng Jhong-jhèng | gr5 = Jeang Jongjenq | mi5 = | w5 = | bpmf5 = ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄓㄥˋ | y5 = Jéung Jūng-jing | j5 = Zoeng2 zung1 zing3| | poj5 = Chiúⁿ Tiong-chèng | lmz5 = }} | native_name = 蔣介石 }} Chiang Kai-shek}} (; ; 31 October 18875 April 1975) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and military commander who led the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 until his death in 1975. His government was based in mainland China until it was defeated in the Chinese Civil War by Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, after which he continued to lead the ROC government on the island of Taiwan.

Born in Zhejiang, Chiang received a military education in China and Japan and joined Sun Yat-sen's Tongmenghui organization in 1908. After the 1911 Revolution, he was a founding member of the KMT and head of the Whampoa Military Academy from 1924 to its closure in 1930. After Sun's death in 1925, Chiang became leader of the party and commander-in-chief of the Nationalist Revolutionary Army, and from 1926 to 1928 led the Northern Expedition, which nominally reunified China under a Nationalist government based in Nanjing. The First United Front broke down in 1927 following the KMT's Shanghai Massacre, triggering the Chinese Civil War. During the Nanjing decade, Chiang pursued unification and modernization while prioritizing the suppression of the Communists over confrontation with Japan following the latter's invasion of Manchuria. The Xi’an Incident in 1936 forced him to form a Second United Front with the CCP against Japan. Between 1937 and 1945, Chiang led China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, mostly from the wartime capital of Chongqing. As the leader of a major Allied power, he attended the Cairo Conference to discuss the terms for Japan's surrender, including the return of Taiwan, where he suppressed the February 28 uprising.

When World War II ended, the Chinese Civil War resumed. In 1949, Chiang's KMT government was defeated by Mao's CCP and retreated to Taiwan, where he imposed martial law and White Terror that lasted until 1987 and 1992, respectively. Beginning in 1948, he was re-elected five times by the same Eternal Parliament with six-year terms as President of the ROC, the head of a de facto one-party state, for 25 years until his death. Chiang presided over land reform, economic growth, and crises in the Taiwan Strait in 1954–1955 and again in 1958. He was considered the legitimate leader of China by the United Nations until 1971, when the ROC's seat was transferred to the People's Republic of China. After Chiang's death in 1975, he was succeeded as leader of the KMT by his son Chiang Ching-kuo, who was elected president in following terms by the same parliament since 1978.

Chiang is a controversial figure. Supporters credit him with unifying the nation and ending the century of humiliation, leading the resistance against Japan, fostering economic development and promoting Chinese culture in contrast to Mao's Cultural Revolution. He is also credited with safeguarding the Forbidden City's national treasures during the wars, eventually relocating a substantial portion to Taiwan, where he founded the National Palace Museum. Critics fault him for his early appeasement of Japan, the deliberate flooding of the Yellow River, cronyism and corruption linked to the Four Big Families, and authoritarian rule on both mainland China and Taiwan. Provided by Wikipedia