Liu Shaoqi, Chinese politician, 2nd Chairman of the People's Republic of China (born 1898)

Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1954 to 1959, first-ranking vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966, and the chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1959 to 1968. He was considered to be a possible successor to Chairman Mao Zedong, but was purged during the Cultural Revolution.

The president of China, officially the president of the People's Republic of China, is the state representative of the People's Republic of China. On its own, it is a ceremonial office and has no real power in China's political system. While the office has many of the characteristics of a head of state, the Constitution of China does not define it as such. The Chinese president was the third to fifth highest-ranking position when it was re-established in 1982. However, since 1993, the post has been held by the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission, who is China's de facto leader.