Taiwan's president-elect Tsai Ing-Wen has made history after being declared the first female leader of the island nation.

Tsai, a US and UK educated scientist, won the presidential race after gathering almost 60 percent of the total votes. Prior to the commencement of the elections, Tsai was clearly the 'favorite' to win compared to the other two candidates: Eric Chu of the Kuomintang Party and James Soong of the People's First Party.

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Here are a few facts about the Taiwan's first female President:

1.)    59-year-old Tsai helped formulate the "two states theory" disproving China's claim that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic. Tsai was initially hired by former Taiwan President Lee Teng-Hui to serve as the leader of a group of legal experts conducting research about the issue.

2.)    She aided in clearing the smeared image of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) when former President and co-founder Chen Shui-bian faced corruption charges that lead to his resignation in 2008.

"In a mature democratic society, if there is no strong opposition party, then democratic politics will most likely regress," said Tsai, in one of the books she wrote.

3.)    Tsai, who is a descendant of the Hakka Han, is the youngest child of a property developer. Tsai revealed that her parents had set high standards for their children and were disappointed that she did not top her examinations as compared to her siblings.

4.)    The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has expressed support for Taiwan's independence, but Tsai wants to maintain the 'status quo' with China.

Tsai previously stated that she will not abide to the '1992 consensus' between the Kuomintang (KMT) administration and China.  

She will be officially sworn into office as President on May 20, 2016.

TagsFacts, Taiwan, first female president