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Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Chen Shui-bian, who was elected president of the Republic of China on Saturday, was born on Feb. 18, 1950 to a farmer's family in Tainan County, southern Taiwan.

After graduating from the Law School of National Taiwan University in 1974, Chen began practicing as a lawyer in Taipei.

His first step into the political limelight was the treason trial of the Formosa Magazine staff in 1979, in which the young lawyer acted for the defense, paving his route into the island's opposition camp.

Two years later, he was elected to the Taipei City council , and formally launched his political career.

After two four-year terms as councilor, he went on to be elected to the legislature, a step further up the national political ladder.

During his two terms as legislator from 1989-1994, Chen earned a reputation as an aggressive critic of the ruling Kuomintang, but was nevertheless elected convenor of National Defense Committee, a seat usually held by the ruling party.

During this period, Chen also served as the DPP whip at the Legislative Yuan, and his leadership talents became more apparent.

In 1994, the legislator entered the race for Taipei City mayor, which he won with a narrow margin when KMT's traditional support was torn between the candidates of the KMT and the New Party.

But four years later, he met his greatest political setback when the KMT and New Party rallied behind a KMT candidate and thwarted his re-election bid.

This failure actually provided him with the opportunity to enter the race for president when the DPP was unable to field a candidate with a national profile and the KMT was entangled in a fierce internal struggle between former Taiwan Provincial Governor James Soong and Vice President Lien Chan.

His nomination as the DPP candidate was almost unanimously approved by the DPP, which revised its party charter in order to allow Chen to become the standard-bearer of the party.

The DPP victory in the race for president, with Chen taking advantage of a divided conservative electorate, is almost a replay of the 1994 Taipei mayoral race. (By Maubo Chang)