Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who was President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975 and the head of the Nationalist government from 1925 to 1948. As the de facto leader of the Republic of China (ROC), he ruled the country through World War II and oversaw the relocation of its government to Taiwan following defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Chiang was Premier of the Republic of China at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Wiki link