Portrait of Tsai Ing-wen

Birthday profile

Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese politician and the President of the Republic of China

Born
August 31, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1956

About Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai Ing-wen (Chinese: 蔡英文; pinyin: Cài Yīngwén; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the 7th president of the Republic of China from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she was the first woman to serve in the office. Born in Zhongshan District, Taipei, Tsai graduated from National Taiwan University in 1978, earned a master's degree in law from Cornell University in 1980, and earned her doctorate in law from the London School of Economics in 1984 before becoming a law professor. Appointed to government positions by the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) in 1993, she was one of the chief drafters of the special state-to-state relations doctrine under President Lee Teng-hui. During Chen Shui-bian's first term, she chaired the Mainland Affairs Council, before joining the DPP in 2004 and serving briefly in the Legislative Yuan. She was appointed Vice Premier under Su Tseng-chang but resigned in 2007. Following the DPP's defeat in the 2008 presidential election, Tsai was elected party chair, a position she held three times (2008–2012, 2014–2018, and 2020–2022). In 2011, she became the first woman nominated as a presidential candidate by a major Taiwanese party, narrowly defeating Su Tseng-chang in the DPP primary. She lost the 2012 presidential election to incumbent Ma Ying-jeou before winning the 2016 presidential election by a landslide against Eric Chu. She was re-elected in 2020 over Han Kuo-yu and was succeeded by Lai Ching-te. During the first term of Chen Shui-bian's presidency, Tsai served as Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council. In April 2011, Tsai became the first woman to be nominated by a major party as a presidential candidate in the history of Taiwan after defeating her former superior, Su Tseng-chang, in the DPP's primary election by a slight margin.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Tsai Ing-wen was born

Tsai Ing-wen was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Tsai Ing-wen's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.