1st National People's Congress

The 1st National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1954 to 1959. It held four sessions in this period. There were 1,226 deputies to the Congress. These were the first legislative elections to take place after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

1st National People's Congress 第一届全国人民代表大会
National Emblem of the People's Republic of China
15 September 1954 – 17 April 1959 (4 years, 183 days) Overview
Type	Highest organ of state power
Election	Indirect elections
Leadership
Chairman	Liu Shaoqi
Vice Chairmen	Soong Ching-ling, Lin Boqu, Li Jishen, Zhang Lan, Luo Ronghuan, Shen Junru, Guo Moruo, Huang Yanpei, Peng Zhen, Li Weihan, Chen Shutong, Tenzin Gyatso, Saifuddin Azizi, and Cheng Qian
Secretary-General	Peng Zhen
Standing Committee	80 (1st)
Members
Total	1,226 members

1st National People's Congress
Traditional Chinese	第一屆全國人民代表大會
Simplified Chinese	第一届全国人民代表大会
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dìyī Jiè Quánguó Rénmín Dàibiǎo Dàhuì
Abbreviation
Traditional Chinese	第一屆全國人大
Simplified Chinese	第一届全国人大
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dìyī Jiè Quánguó Réndà

Huairen Hall, where the first session of the congress took place

Background

In accordance with the rules set by the 1st National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the first set of deputies to the NPC were elected in the spring and summer of 1954, the first elections under the 1953 Electoral Law which set rules for elections in the PRC, by the following:

• Provincial legislatures
• Legislative councils of the directly administered cities
• Regional legislature of Inner Mongolia

Seat distribution

Major party		Chairman	Seats
	Chinese Communist Party	Mao Zedong	1,048
Other Parties		Chairperson	Seats
	Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party	Zhang Bojun	178
	Jiusan Society	Xu Deheng
	China Democratic League	Zhang Lan Shen Junru
	China Association for Promoting Democracy	Ma Xulun
	China National Democratic Construction Association	Huang Yanpei
	Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang	Li Jishen
	Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League	Xie Xuehong
	China Zhi Gong Party	Chen Qiyou
	Independents	N/A

The first session

Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai at the first session of the 1st NPC in 1954.

Delegates voting at the first session of the 1st NPC.

The first plenary session was held in September 1954. The Congress passed the 1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. It elected the state leaders:

• Chairman of the People's Republic of China: Mao Zedong
• Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China: Zhu De
• Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress: Liu Shaoqi
• Premier of the State Council: Zhou Enlai
• President of the Supreme People's Court: Dong Biwu
• Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate: Zhang Dingcheng

Chairmanship Election
Candidates	For	Against	Abstain
Mao Zedong	1210	0	0
Vice Chairmanship Election
Candidates	For	Against	Abstain
Zhu De	1210	0	0