The 2nd

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

() was in session from 1959 to 1964. It held four sessions in this period.

Elections to the Congress

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. Introduction This constitution was published based upon ...

, 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 A direct-administrated municipality (), commonly known as municipality, is the highest level of classification for cities used by the People's Republic of China. These cities have the same rank as provinces and form part of the first tier of a ...

: Beijing and Shanghai. The elections were held in accordance with the 1953 Electoral Law. The results of the election were a clear Communist victory amongst the parties of the United Front, with the party electing 1,048 representatives, the minor parties 179.

First plenary session

The first session was held in April 1959. The Congress elected the state leaders: *

President of the People's Republic of China The president of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the president of China, is the head of state and the second-highest political office of the People's Republic of China. The presidency is constitutionally a largely ceremonial off ...

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and ...

* Vice President of the People's Republic of China:

Soong Ching-ling Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 189329 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. ...

and

Dong Biwu Dong Biwu (; 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 life Dong Biwu was born in Huanggang, Hubei to ...

Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is the presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), which is the permanent body of the National People's Congress, highest orga ...

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

Premier of the State Council The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

*President of the

Supreme People's Court The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC; ) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of nation ...

: Xie Juezai *Prosecutor-General of the

Supreme People's Procuratorate The Supreme People's Procuratorate () is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and investigation in the People's Republic of China. Conceived initially in 1949 as the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office, the agency was r ...

: Zhang Dingcheng

External links

Official website of the NPC
{{People's Republic of China elections National People's Congresses 1959 in China