The first President of the Republic of China was Sun Yat-sen. He was a revolutionary leader and played a key role in overthrowing the Qing dynasty in 1911, which marked the end of China's millennia-long imperial era. Sun Yat-sen served as the interim President of the Republic of China from 1912 to 1913, and he was later elected as the first official President of the Republic of China in 1919.