Premier of Manchuria

Premier of Manchu Republic ㄇㄢㄗㄨ ㄍㄨㄥㄏㄜㄍㄨㄛ ㄗㄨㄥㄌㄧ Mǎnzú Gònghéguó Zǒnglǐ
Incumbent Liu Zhou since 24th January 2014
Style	His/Her Excellency
Residence	Palace of the Premier Harbin Metropolitan District, Manchuria
Term length	Five year term which can be renewed once.
Inaugural holder	Zhao Guangping (as Supreme Leader)
Formation	14th July 1917
Deputy	Vice-Premier

The Premier of Manchu Republic (Chinese: ㄇㄢㄗㄨ ㄍㄨㄥㄏㄜㄍㄨㄛ ㄗㄨㄥㄌㄧ; Mǎnzú Gònghéguó Zǒnglǐ) is the head of state and the head of government in Manchuria as well as serving as the commander-in-chief of the Manchu National Defence Force. The Premier officially leads the executive branch in Manchuria, officially known as the Executive Council.

The position of Premier was formed in July 1917 by Zhao Guangping following the creation of the First Manchu Republic, where it was referred to as the Zuigao Lingxiu ("Supreme Leader"). The collapse of Zhao's regime saw Manchuria placed under Chinese rule until Japan invaded the region and created the puppet state Manchukuo with former Qing emperor Puyi serving as a monarch. The Manchu Revolt of 1944 and the establishment of the Second Manchu Republic saw the position of Zuigao Lingxiu used once again. Following the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria in August and the dissolution of the second republic the position was abolished. In 1946 the Manchu People's Republic was formed under the Communist Party of Manchuria with the party's general secretary Xu Xiaobao reinstating the position as the ceremonial Premier of the National Democratic Council, the leader of the rotating collective head of state. Following the Orchid Revolution and the implementation of the current constitution the position has been reformed to fill in the role of head of state in a presidential system. The first truly democratically elected premier was Du Changhao in 1990.

The Premier is directly elected every five years through a plurality voting system, with the option to serve a maximum of two terms in office. If the Premier resigns then there is a two-month period before a premierial election must be held for the Premier's replacement. The deputy of the Premier is the Vice-Premier, who is appointed by the premier.

List of head of states of Manchuria

     Manzuxiehui      Gongchandang      Minzhudang

Nº	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of Office		Political Party
1917-1929 • Supreme Leader of the First Manchu Republic •
1		Zhao Guangping 趙光屏 (1878-1945)	14th July 1917	21st April 1929	Manzuxiehui
			Zhao remains the longest serving Premier of Manchuria (then known as the Supreme Leader; Zuigao Lingxiu). Under his rule the Manchu Republic declared independence from China, creating a single-party military dictatorship. Under Zhao Manchuria started to form as a nation with national institutions such as a government, banking system, currency, education system and armed forces. Industrialisation was also undertaken as well as economic and political cooperation with Japan. He was replaced as Zuigao Lingxiu after Chinese forces invaded.
2		Liang Pufang 梁撲枋 (1865-1934)	21st April 1929	13th June 1929	Manzuxiehui
			Liang was promoted to the position of Zuigao Lingxiu following Zhao's resignation. He led Manchu forces in the latter half of the Manchu-Chinese War which saw the collapse of the First Manchu Republic.
1929-1931 • Part of the Republic of China •
1931-1945 • Manchukuo •
1944-1945 • Zuigao Lingxiu of the Second Manchu Republic •
3		Zhao Guangping 趙光屏 (1878-1945)	11th December 1944	22nd January 1945 (assassinated)	Manzuxiehui
			Zhao led the Manchu Revolution creating the Second Manchu Republic in a coalition with the MRNC and the Communist Party of Manchuria. He was assassinated after just over a month in power.
4		Qian Wanyong 錢灣甬 (1887-1945)	22nd January 1945	13th April 1945 (resigned)	Manzuxiehui
			Appointed as Zhao's replacement, Qiang was a military general who led resistance forces against the Japanese. Resigned following differences between him and the communists.
-		Xu Xiaobao 徐小寶 (1897- 1954)	13th April 1945	4th May 1945 (acting)	Communist Party of Manchuria
			As the First Secretary of the CPM Xu was appointed acting Zuigao Lingxiu following Qiang's resignation.
5		Song Yixin 宋一欣 (1893- 1945)	4th May 1945	26th August 1945	Manzuxiehui
			A leader of the Old Left in the Manzuxiehui, Song unsuccessfully tried to combat both Japanese and Soviet forces. When the CPM withdrew from the Manchu government Song's forces were quickly overturned by the Red Army.
1945-1946 • Soviet occupation of Manchuria •
1946-1990 • Premier of the National Democratic Council of the Manchu People's Republic •
5		Song Yixin 宋一欣 (1893- 1945)	3rd May 1946	24th July 1948 (executed)	Communist Party of Manchuria
			Having defected to the CPM after the war, Song was appointed Premier after the creation of the Manchu People's Republic a single-party socialist state - however he was a puppet as First Secretary Xu Xiaobao held real power. He was purged during the Red Terror in 1948.
6		Xu Xiaobao 徐小寶 (1897- 1954)	24th July 1948	17th May 1953	Communist Party of Manchuria
			Xu was appointed Premier after Song's purging, although in reality he had controlled Manchuria since 1946. Under his rule the CPM became the governing organ of the state whilst implementing widespread repression, industrialism, collectivisation, and a purge of dissidents with Xu promoting Stalinist policies whilst engaging with a split with China. In 1950 he had Manchuria become heavily involved in the Korean War which dragged on for three years. The war ended with Xu signing the humiliating Tianjin Agreement which saw a eastern Manchuria annexed by China. He was subsequently put on trial and executed by his colleagues ostensibly for being a British agent.
7		Rao Shaozheng 饒一鋟 (1883 - 1967)	25th February 1955	15th September 1983	Communist Party of Manchuria
			Helped oust Xu alongside First Secretary Qian Yiu-tong and Chairman of Standing Committee Wan Shuangjiang. Appointed to Premier in 1955, Rao was a part of the Stalinist faction of the party where he was part of a troika with Qian and Wan, although Qian held ultimate control. Under Rao's nominal rule Manchuria was governed by the Black River Protocol, which emphasised nationalism, single-party rule, consensus based decision making, and modernisation. During his time as Premier he dismantled Xu's cult of personality. Manchuria during this time developed nuclear weapons and spearheaded the "Great Exchange" which amounted to an ethnic cleansing of Han Chinese from Manchuria. In 1976 he sided with Qian in launching the Anti-Reactionary Campaign. This led to the retention of the Black River Protocol under his and Qian's later shared rule with the party bureaucracy stagnating. Rao was instrumental in sheltering Korean dissident Huang Fuzhan and in advocating for war in the October Crisis which severely weakened the standing of party conservatives.
8		Tao Shiyou 陶師莜 (1883 - 1967)	15th September 1983	13th December 1989	Communist Party of Manchuria
			The first reformist to become Premier, Tao had already implemented his policy of "New Communism" after becoming First Secretary in 1980 and Chairman of the Standing Committee in 1978. Under Tao there was limited economic reform that focussed more on light industry, tourism and services. There was also an overhaul of the state bureaucracy leading to the rise of a new generation of reformists, and the implementation of the two-child policy. Discontent with communist rule saw the Orchid Revolution break out in 1989, with Tao unable to control and protests and thus leading to his ousting from the politburp.
9		Yuan Xiang 遠翔 (1920 - 2001)	13th December 1989	27th January 1990	Communist Party of Manchuria
			A moderate within the party, Yuan supported the ousting of Tao. With the Orchid Revolution in full swing, Yuan oversaw the multi-party elections in which the CPM lost power. He was the last Premier of the Manchu People's Republic.
1990-present • Premier of the Third Manchu Republic •
10		Du Changhao 杜昌 (1953)	27th January 1990	7th January 2000	Minzhudang
			A former communist apparatchik and the first democratically elected head of state of Manchuria, Du introduced the Auspicious Path to Progress which saw the decommunisation of Manchuria. Widespread reforms were undertaken which saw all political prisoners released, the dismantlement of the police state, the lifting of press restrictions, the rewriting of the constitution, the end of Manchuria's nuclear weapons program and the liberalisation of society. In his first term shock therapy economics were pursued which transformed Manchuria from having a command economy to a free market capitalist one; however following the social effects of these policies Du adopted a more economic statist outlook. He was re-elected to much controversy in 1995.
11		Jin Pai Nai 靳派奈 (1955)	7th January 2000	24th January 2010	Manzuxiehui
			The former vice-premier and elected in 2000, Jin very much continued Du's statist policies whilst building strong relations with Manchuria's neighbours such as China. Under Jin there was a push for labour rights as well as a rollback some of the social liberal policies of the previous administration and the privatisation of the postal service. Re-elected in 2005, Jin led Manchuria through the 2008 great recession where he implemented austerity measures. In 2018 as he neared the end of his second term Jin was embroiled in a major corruption scandal that weakened his government. Jin was the first Premier not to be a member of the Communist Party since Qian Wanyong.
12		Liu Zhou 李週 (1957)	24th January 2010	N/A	Manzuxiehui
			Liu was elected as the first female premier of Manchuria in 2010. Liu has led to a resurgence of economic statism in Manchuria whilst continuing her predecessors social conservative policies. She won re-election in 2015.