Lee Teng-hui

President of the Republic of China

15 January 1923 Sanzhi, Taihoku Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan

30 July 2020(2020-07-30) (97) Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan

13 January 1988 – 20 May 2000

President of Taiwan (1988–2000) For the former president of Fudan University with the same name, see Li Denghui (educator). In this article, the surname is Lee (李). Lee Teng-hui李登輝 President of the Republic of ChinaIn office 13 January 1988 – 20 May 2000Premier Yu Kuo-hwa Lee Huan Hau Pei-tsun Lien Chan Vincent Siew Vice President Li Yuan-tsu Lien Chan Preceded by Chiang Ching-kuoSucceeded by Chen Shui-bianVice President of the Republic of ChinaIn office 20 May 1984 – 13 January 1988PresidentChiang Ching-kuoPreceded by Hsieh Tung-minSucceeded by Li Yuan-tsu2nd Chairman of the KuomintangIn office 27 July 1988 – 24 March 2000 Acting: 13 January 1988 – 27 July 1988 Preceded by Chiang Ching-kuoSucceeded by Lien Chan11th Chairman of Taiwan Provincial GovernmentIn office 5 December 1981 – 20 May 1984Preceded by Lin Yang-kangSucceeded by Liu Chao-tien (acting) Chiu Chuang-huan Mayor of TaipeiIn office 9 June 1978 – 5 December 1981Preceded by Lin Yang-kangSucceeded by Shao En-hsin (邵恩新 )Minister without portfolioIn office 1 June 1972 – 1 June 1978PremierChiang Ching-kuo Personal detailsBorn(1923-01-15 ) 15 January 1923 Sanzhi, Taihoku Prefecture, Japanese TaiwanDied30 July 2020(2020-07-30) (aged 97) Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Beitou District, Taipei, TaiwanResting placeWuzhi Mountain Military CemeteryNationality Empire of Japan (1923–1945) Republic of China (Taiwan) (1945–2020) Political partyIndependent (2001–2020)Other political affiliations Communist Party of China (1946–1948) Kuomintang (1971–2001) Taiwan Solidarity Union (affiliated non-member; 2001–2020) Spouse(s)Tseng Wen-hui ​(m. 1949)​Education Kyoto Imperial University National Taiwan University (B.S.) Iowa State University (M.S.) Cornell University (PhD) OccupationEconomist, statesmanMilitary serviceAllegiance  Empire of JapanBranch/service  Imperial Japanese ArmyYears of service1944–1946RankSecond lieutenantBattles/warsSecond World War Pacific War Chinese nameTraditional Chinese李登輝 Simplified Chinese李登辉 TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinLǐ Dēnghuī Bopomofoㄌㄧˇ ㄉㄥ ㄏㄨㄟ Gwoyeu RomatzyhLii Denghuei Wade–GilesLi3 Têng1-hui1 Tongyong PinyinLǐ Denghuei MPS2Lǐ Dēng-huēi IPA HakkaRomanizationLí Tên-Fî Yue: CantoneseJyutpinglei5 dang1fai1 Southern MinHokkien POJLí Teng-hui Tâi-lôLí Ting-hui Japanese nameKanji岩里政男 Kanaいわさと まさお TranscriptionsRomanizationIwasato Masao Lee Teng-hui (Chinese: 李登輝 ; 15 January 1923 – 30 July 2020) or Iwasato Masao (岩里政男 ) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who was the fourth President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the first president to be born in Taiwan, the last to be indirectly elected and the first to be directly elected. During his presidency, Lee oversaw the end of martial law and the full democratization of the ROC, advocated the Taiwanese localization movement, and led an ambitious foreign policy to gain allies around the world. Nicknamed "Mr. Democracy", Lee was credited as the president who initiated Taiwan's transition to the democratic era. After leaving office, he remained active in Taiwanese politics. Lee was considered the "spiritual leader" of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and recruited for the party in the past. After Lee campaigned for TSU candidates in the 2001 Taiwanese legislative election, he was expelled by KMT. Other activities that Lee engaged in included maintaining relations with former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and Japan.