Premier of the Republic of China
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Template:Politics of Taiwan The President of the Executive Yuan (行政院長), colloquially referred to as the Premier (閣揆), is the head of the Executive Yuan or executive branch of the Republic of China government which currently administers Taiwan. The premier is appointed by the President of the Republic of China.
The premier presides over the Executive Yuan Council, which makes up the official cabinet. The vice premier, ministers, and chairpersons of the Executive Yuan are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier. The premier's official duties also include presenting administrative policies and reports to the Legislative Yuan, responding to the interpellations of legislators, and, with the approval of the president, asking the Legislative Yuan to reconsider its resolutions. Laws and decrees promulgated by the President of the Republic must also be countersigned by the premier.
In the event of vacancies in both the presidency and the vice presidency, the premier serves as Acting President of the Republic for up to three months.
One-third of the Legislative Yuan may initiate a no-confidence vote against the premier. If apporoved with simple majority, the premier must resign from office within ten days and at the same time may request that the President dissolve the Legislative Yuan. If the motion fails, another no-confidence motion against the same premier cannot be initiated for one year. This power has never been used. In practice, the President has enough legitimacy and executive authority to govern in the face of a legislature controlled by the opposition, and would likely respond to a vote of no-confidence by nominating another person with similar views.
The Constitution of the Republic of China did not originally define strictly the relation between the premier and the president of the Republic and it was not clear whether the government would lean towards a presidential system or parliamentary system when divided. Power shifted to Premier Chiang Ching-kuo after President Chiang Kai-shek's death but shifted to the presidency again when Chiang Ching-kuo became president. Under President Lee Teng-hui in the 1990's, the power of the premier to approve the president's appointments and the power of the Legislative Yuan to confirm the president's choice of premier was removed, clearly establishing the president as the more powerful position of the two.
Another constitutional issue was involved the relationship between the Premier and the legislature which became an issue after the 2000 Presidental election in which the Presidency and the legislature were controlled by separate parties. Initially, President Chen Shui-Bian appointed a Premier who was a former member of the Kuomintang, but this arrangment proved unworkable and he quickly replaced the Premier with a loyalist from the his Democratic Progressive Party. It has since become constitutional convention that the Premier is responsible to the President and does not have any responsibility to the legislature other than to report on his activities.
List of Presidents of the Executive Yuan
- Tan Yankai (10 October 1928 - 22 September 1930)
- T. V. Soong (22 September 1930 - 4 December 1930)
- Chiang Kai-shek (4 December 1930 - 15 December 1931)
- Chen Mingshu (15 December 1931 - 28 December 1931)
- Sun Fo (28 December 1931 - 28 January 1932)
- Wang Jingwei (28 January 1932 - 7 December 1935)
- Chiang Kai-shek (7 December 1935 - 1 January 1938)
- H. H. Kung (1 January 1938 - 20 November 1939)
- Chiang Kai-shek (20 November 1939 - 31 May 1945)
- T. V. Soong (31 May 1945 - 1 March 1947)
- Chiang Kai-shek (1 March 1947 - 18 April 1947)
- Chang Chun (18 April 1947 - 24 May 1948)
- Wong Wen-hao (24 May 1948 - 26 November 1948 )
- Sun Fo (26 November 1948 - 12 March 1949 )
- Ho Ying-chin (12 March 1949 - 3 June 1949)
- Yen Hsi-shan (3 June 1949 - 7 March 1950)
- Chen Cheng (7 March 1950 - 7 June 1954)
- Yü Hung-chün (7 June 1954 - 30 June 1958)
- Chen Cheng (30 June 1958 - 15 December 1963)
- Yen Chia-kan (15 December 1963 - 29 May 1972)
- Chiang Ching-kuo (29 May 1972 - 30 May 1978)
- Sun Yun-suan (30 May 1978 - 20 May 1984)
- Yu Kuo-hwa (20 May 1984 - 21 May 1989)
- Lee Huan (21 May 1989 - 30 May 1990)
- Hau Pei-tsun (30 May 1990 - 10 February 1993)
- Lien Chan (10 February 1993 - 1 September 1997)
- Vincent Siew (1 September 1997 - 20 May 2000)
- Tang Fei (20 May 2000 - 6 October 2000)
- Chang Chun-hsiung (6 October 2000 - 1 February 2002)
- Yu Shyi-kun (1 February 2002 - 1 February 2005)
- Frank Hsieh (1 February 2005 - present)
See also: