Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen (; traditional Chinese: 孫逸仙; simplified Chinese: 孙逸仙; pinyin: Sūn Yìxiān; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who served as the provisional first president of the Republic of China and the first leader of the Kuomintang (KMT). Uniquely among 20th-century Chinese leaders, Sun is revered by both the Republic of China on Taiwan (where he is officially the "Father of the Nation") and by the People's Republic of China (where he is officially the "Forerunner of the Revolution") for his instrumental role in the 1911 Revolution that successfully overthrew the Qing dynasty.

Educated overseas, Sun is considered one of the most important leaders of modern China, but his political life featured constant struggles and frequent periods of exile. After the success of the 1911 Revolution, Sun quickly resigned as president of the nascent Republic of China, relinquishing the position to the general Yuan Shikai and ultimately going into exile in Japan. He later returned to found a revolutionary government in Southern China to challenge the warlords who controlled much of the country following Yuan's death. In 1923, Sun invited representatives of the Communist International to Guangzhou to reorganize the KMT, resulting in the brittle First United Front with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He did not live to see his party unify the country under his successor, Chiang Kai-shek, in the Northern Expedition. Now residing in Beijing, Sun died of gallbladder cancer in 1925.

A vital component of Sun's legacy is his political philosophy, known as the Three Principles of the People: the peoples' independence from foreign domination, their rights, and their livelihood. He also composed the lyrics to the National Anthem of the Republic of China.