The 2nd National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1959 to 1964. It held four sessions in this period.
Background
Since the succeeding Congress was to be the first to be elected under the
1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China
The 1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China was adopted and enacted on September 20, 1954, through the first session of the First National People’s Congress in Beijing. This constitution was amended and formulated on the basis ...
, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in February 1959, finished all the preparatory work for selection of deputies, which were voted by representatives of the provincial legislatures and the city legislatures of the then two
Direct-administered municipalities of China: Beijing and Shanghai. The elections were held in accordance with the 1953 Electoral Law.
Seat distribution
The first session
The first session was held in 18–28 April 1959. During the first session,
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
relinquished his role as chairman of the People's Republic to Liu Shaoqi.
The Congress elected the state leaders:
*
Chairman of the People's Republic of China
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. Whil ...
:
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) 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 Communis ...
*
Vice Chairmen of the People's Republic of China:
Soong Ching-ling
Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981), Christian name Rosamonde or Rosamond, was a Chinese political figure. She was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, therefore known by Madame Sun Yat-sen and the "''Father of the Nation, Mother of Mode ...
and
Dong Biwu
Dong Biwu ( zh , c=董必武 , p=Dǒng Bìwǔ , w=Tung Pi-wu; 5 March 1886 – 2 April 1975) was a Chinese communist revolutionary and politician, who served as acting Chairman of the People's Republic of China between 1972 and 1975.
Early li ...
*
:
Zhu De
Zhu De; (1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Zhu was born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan. He was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...
*
Premier of the State Council:
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
*
President of the Supreme People's Court
The president of the Supreme People's Court is the head of the Supreme People's Court and is the highest-ranking official in the Chinese judiciary.
Under the current constitution, the president of the SPC is appointed by and serves at the pleasu ...
:
Xie Juezai
*
Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate
The procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate is the head of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and is the highest-ranking prosecutor in China.
Under the current constitution, the procurator-general is appointed by and serves at t ...
:
Zhang Dingcheng
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Official website of the NPC
{{National People's Congress
National People's Congresses
1959 in China