Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In the power vacuum that appeared after the fall of Lin Biao, Dong became Acting President of China, serving in that capacity from February 1972 to January 1975. At that point, the office of president was abolished and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - then Zhu De - became the formal head of state. Dong was in turn elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's National Congress.