| Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet | |
|---|---|
| 大清內閣總理大臣 | |
 | |
| Appointer | Emperor of China |
| Inaugural holder | Prince Qing |
| Formation |
|
| Final holder | |
| Abolished |
|
| Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 內閣總理大臣 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 内阁总理大臣 | ||||||
| |||||||
The Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet was a position created on 8 May 1911 during the late Qing dynasty,as part of the imperial government's unsuccessful attempts at creating a constitutional monarchy in China.
In the early 1900s, the Qing government began implementing constitutional reform in China in order to prevent a revolution. The reforms included the Outline of the Imperial Constitution passed in 1908, which ordered that elections for provincial assemblies must be held within a year. In May 1911, the government replaced the Grand Council with a thirteen-member cabinet, led by Prince Qing, who was appointed Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet. However, the cabinet included nine Manchus, seven of whom were members of the imperial clan. This "Princes' Cabinet" was unpopular among the people and was viewed as a reactionary measure, being described at one point as "the old Grand Council under the name of a cabinet, autocracy under the name of constitutionalism." [1]
When the Wuchang Uprising broke out in November 1911, the imperial court summoned the general Yuan Shikai to command the Beiyang Army and put down the revolution. He was named prime minister on 2 November 1911, shortly after Prince Qing stepped down. He remained in that office until March 1912, when he negotiated with Empress Dowager Longyu the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor. [1]
The post was briefly revived in July 1917 during Zhang Xun's attempt to restore the Qing monarchy, but he only held it for several days before Beijing was retaken by Republican forces.
| No. | Portrait | Name (born–died) | Term of office | Political party | Cabinet | Emperor (Reign) | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||||
| 1 |  | Yikuang, Prince Qing (1838–1917) | 8 May 1911 | 1 November 1911 | 177 days | Independent (Imperial Family) | Yikuang | Xuantong (Puyi) (1908–1912) | ||
| 2 |  | Yuan Shikai (1859–1916) | 2 November 1911 | 10 March 1912 | 129 days | Beiyang Clique | Yuan | |||
| Abolished (1912–1917) | ||||||||||
| 3 |  | Zhang Xun (1854–1923) | 1 July 1917 | 12 July 1917 | 11 days | Independent (Warlord) | Zhang | Puyi (unrecognized) | ||
Yuan Shikai was a Chinese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, the second provisional president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and Emperor of China from 1915 to 1916. A major political figure during the late Qing dynasty, he spearheaded a number of major modernisation programs and reforms and played a decisive role in securing the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor in 1912, which marked the collapse of the Qing monarchy and the end of imperial rule in China.
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