List of rulers of Taiwan


This is a list of the highest-ranked rulers based on the island of Taiwan.

Dutch and Spanish Formosa (1624–1662)

Dutch Formosa (1624–1662)

The Dutch Empire, during the period of the Dutch United Provinces and under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company, attempted to conquer Macau in 1622. Later they colonized the Pescadores Islands, where they built a fort in Makung. In 1624, the Chinese attacked, and the Dutch were driven to Taiwan. That year they established Fort Zeelandia on Taiwan's southwest coast. In 1637, the Dutch conquered Favorolang. The names listed here are the Dutch governors:

Spanish Formosa (1626–1642)

In response to the Dutch settlements, the Spanish settled at Keelung on the northeast coast of the island in 1626 and built Fort San Salvador. Later they built another outpost, Fort San Domingo, at Tamsui in the northwest. In 1629 these forts had a combined total of about 200 Spaniards and 400 Filipinos. By 1635, the Tamsui settlement was abandoned; however, the Keelung settlement remained in Spanish hands until 1642, when a Dutch force of 11 ships and 1,000 men attacked the fort of 446 people. The Spanish surrendered.

Kingdom of Tungning (1662–1683)

The Southern Ming invaded Taiwan under Koxinga, expelling the Dutch and capturing Fort Zeelandia. They established the Kingdom of Tungning.
* Regency of Feng Xifan from 1682 to 1683.

Taiwan under Qing rule (1683–1895)

Taiwan-Amoy Circuit (1683–1721)

The Qing Dynasty invaded Taiwan; the Ming rulers surrendered and were expelled.
;Taiwan-Xiamen Circuit Commissioner

Taiwan Circuit (1721–1885)

Qing rule was reestablished after a month-long revolt. The Taiwan Circuit was established in 1727 with its seat in Taiwan-fu, unlike its predecessor, the Taiwan-Amoy Circuit, which was based in Xiamen. The Taiwan Circuit Commissioner had its powers checked by the Taiwan Circuit Investigating censors.
;Taiwan Circuit Commissioner
;Taiwan Circuit Investigating Censor
Start of officeInvestigating Censor №№Investigating Censor Start of office
1722Aisin Gioro Wudali 11Huang Shujing1722
1724Shanjibu 22Ding Shiyi1724
1724Shanjibu 23Jing Kaoxiang1725
1726Suolin 34Wang Jijing1726
1726Hesuse 44Wang Jijing1726
1726Hesuse 45Yin Qin1727
1726Hesuse 46Xia Zhifang1728
1730Xideshen 57Li Yuanzhi1730
1730Xideshen 58Gao Shan1730
1732Jueluobiaiyou 68Gao Shan1730
1732Jueluobiaiyou 69Lin Tianmu1733
1734Durtai 79Lin Tianmu1733
1734Durtai 710Yan Ruihong1735
1736Bai Qitu 810Yan Ruihong1735
1737Romubu 911Shan Demo1737
1737Romubu 912Yang Erchou1739
1740Shuge 1012Yang Erchou1739
1740Shuge 1013Zhang Mei1741
1742Shu Shan 1113Zhang Mei1741
1742Shu Shan 1114Xiong Xuepeng1743
1744Liu Shiqi 1214Xiong Xuepeng1743
1744Liu Shiqi 1215Fan Xian1745
1747Yiling'a 1316Bai Ying1747
1749Shuchang 1417Yang Kaiding1749
1751Lizhu 1518Qian Qi1751
1756Guanbao 1619Li Youtang1756
1759Shilin 1720Tang Shichang1760
1763Yongtai 1821Li Yiqing1763
1767Mingshan 1922Zhu Pilie1767
1771Karchongyi 2023Wang Xianzeng1771
1777Tusiyi 2124Meng Shao1777
1781Sedai 2225Lei Lun1781

;Taiwan Military Circuit Commissioner
;Provincial Censor-ranked Taiwan Military Circuit Commissioner

Governor of Fukien-Taiwan Province (1885–1895)

Republic of Formosa (1895)

The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its being taken over by Japanese troops. The Republic was proclaimed on 23 May 1895 and extinguished on 21 October, when the Republican capital Tainan was taken over by the Japanese.

Taiwan under Japanese rule (1895–1945)

After establishing control over the island, the Japanese used the French Empire model of an occupying force and were instrumental in the industrialization of the island; they built railroads, a sanitation system and a public school system, among other things. Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more firmly to the empire.
In 1941, war broke out when the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval port of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. By 1945, desperate plans were in place to incorporate popular representation of Taiwan into the Imperial Diet to end colonial rule of the island and transfer occupying troops to the front lines to fight the Allies. The names listed here are the Japanese governor-generals:

Taiwan after World War II (from 1945)

Following the end of World War II in 1945, under the terms of the Instrument of Surrender of Japan, Japan provisionally accepted the Potsdam Declaration, under which the island was to be transferred to the Republic of China. ROC troops were authorized to come to Taiwan to accept the surrender of Japanese military forces and occupy Taiwan on behalf of Allied Powers in General Order No. 1, issued by Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, on 2 September 1945. ROC troops were later transported to Keelung by the U.S. Navy, and Japanese handed the control of Taiwan to the ROC on 25 October 1945. Following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Premier Yan Xishan proclaimed the ROC Government's relocation to Taiwan, thus replacing the Provincial Chairperson as the highest-ranked executive official on Taiwan. This lasted until March 1950, when Chiang Kai-shek resumed his duties as President in Taipei.

Governor of Taiwan Province (1945–1949)

President of the Republic of China (from 1 March 1950)