Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Flag of the Chinese Communist Party (1942–1996)
Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party (1942–1996)
Longest serving Mao Zedong 20 March 1943 – 9 September 1976
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Style	Chairman (主席) (informal) Comrade (同志) (formal)
Member of	Politburo Standing Committee
Reports to	National Congress
Seat	Zhongnanhai, Beijing, China
Nominator	Central Committee
Appointer	Central Committee
Term length	Five years, renewable with no-limit
Constituting instrument	Party Constitution
Precursor	General Secretary (1921–1943)
Formation	20 March 1943; 81 years ago (1943-03-20)
First holder	Mao Zedong
Final holder	Hu Yaobang
Abolished	1 September 1982; 42 years ago (1982-09-01)
Deputy	Vice Chairman (1956–1982)

The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (Chinese: 中国共产党中央委员会主席; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zhǔxí) was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The position was established at the 8th National Congress in 1945 and abolished at the 12th National Congress in 1982, being replaced by the general secretary. Offices with the name Chairman of the Central Executive Committee and Chairman of the Central Committee existed in 1922–1923 and 1928–1931, respectively.

History and functions

Between 1922 and 1925, Chen Duxiu (still Party Secretary) served as chairman of the Central Executive Committee (Chinese: 中央执行委员会委员长), but the name was changed to General Secretary of the Central Executive Committee in 1925. The post was first introduced in March 1943, when the Politburo decided to discharge Zhang Wentian as General Secretary. As his replacement, Mao Zedong, who had been the de facto leader of the party since the Long March, was named Chairman of the Politburo of the CCP Central Committee (Chinese: 中国共产党中央政治局主席). The seventh CCP National Congress introduced the post of Chairman of the Central Committee into the party constitution, and in 1956 the General Secretary was given the day-to-day management of the Party Secretariat. The chairman was elected by the Central Committee in a plenary session and had full powers over the Central Committee, the Politburo, and its Standing Committee.

The 1956 Party Constitution introduced the multiple Vice-chairman post; since 1945, actual vice-chairmanship had been exercised by the Secretariat members. Liu Shaoqi was the highest-ranking vice-chairman from 1956 to 1966.

The 1969 Party Constitution (adopted by the 9th Congress) introduced the post of a single vice-chairman, in order to give more authority to Lin Biao as Mao's successor. The 1973 Constitution (adopted by the 10th Congress) re-introduced the collective vice-chairmanship. In 1976, Hua Guofeng was named First Vice-chairman of the Central Committee, a post previously held unofficially by Liu Shaoqi from 1956 to 1966; Zhou Enlai from 1973 to 1975; and Deng Xiaoping in 1975 in the capacity of "Vice-Chairman in charge of the day-to-day work of the Central Committee".

The 1975 Chinese Constitution reinforced the influence of the party on the state. The Central Committee (and, by extension, its chairman) was placed before the National People's Congress. Article 15 made the Chairman the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army ("the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party leads all the armed forces of the country"). These changes were reversed by the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China which placed the Party below the State and created a state CMC in parallel to the Party CMC.

Although Hua Guofeng succeeded Mao as party chairman, by 1978 he had lost power to vice chairman Deng Xiaoping, who at that point had become the de facto leader of China.

By the 1980s, the CCP leadership desired to prevent a single leader from rising above the party, as Mao had done. Accordingly, the post of chairman was abolished in 1982. Most of its functions were transferred to the revived post of General Secretary. The party's last chairman, Hu Yaobang, transferred to the post of General Secretary.

List of chairmen

Chairman of the Central Politburo

Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Ref.
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
	Mao Zedong (1893–1976)	20 March 1943	19 June 1945	2 years, 91 days

Chairman of the Central Committee

Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Ref.
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
	Mao Zedong (1893–1976)	19 June 1945	9 September 1976 †	31 years, 82 days
	Hua Guofeng (1921–2008)	7 October 1976	28 June 1981	4 years, 264 days
	Hu Yaobang (1915–1989)	29 June 1981	11 September 1982	1 year, 74 days

List of vice chairmen

Term	Image	Name	Term		Chairman	Note
			Term start	Term end
8th CCP Central Committee		Liu Shaoqi	28 September 1956	1 August 1966	Mao Zedong	In office until the Eleventh Plenary Session
		Zhou Enlai	28 September 1956	1 August 1966
		Zhu De	28 September 1956	1 August 1966
		Chen Yun	28 September 1956	1 August 1966
		Lin Biao	25 May 1958	28 April 1969		Elected at the Fifth Plenary Session
9th CCP Central Committee			28 April 1969	13 September 1971 †		The only party vice-chairman
10th CCP Central Committee		Hua Guofeng	6 April 1976	6 October 1976	Mao Zedong ↓ Hua Guofeng	First Vice-chairman
		Zhou Enlai	30 August 1973	9 January 1976 †		Died in office
		Wang Hongwen	30 August 1973	6 October 1976		Gang of Four, arrested in 1976, expelled in 1977
		Kang Sheng	30 August 1973	16 December 1975 †		Died in office
		Ye Jianying	30 August 1973	18 August 1977		From October 1976 to July 1977, was the only Party Vice-chairman
		Li Desheng	30 August 1973	10 January 1975		Resigned at the Second Plenary Session
		Deng Xiaoping	10 January 1975	18 August 1977		Elected at the Second Plenary Session. Removed from office due to Tiananmen Incident. Reinstated at the Third Plenum
11th CCP Central Committee		Ye Jianying	18 August 1977	12 September 1982	Hua Guofeng ↓ Hu Yaobang
		Deng Xiaoping	18 August 1977	12 September 1982
		Li Xiannian	18 August 1977	12 September 1982
		Wang Dongxing	18 August 1977	29 February 1980		Resigned at the Fifth Plenary Session
		Chen Yun	18 December 1978	12 September 1982		Elected at the Third Plenary Session
		Zhao Ziyang	29 June 1981	12 September 1982		Elected at the Sixth Plenary Session
		Hua Guofeng	29 June 1981	12 September 1982		Elected at the Sixth Plenary Session

See also

In Spanish: Presidente del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de China para niños