The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party () was the
leader of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
. 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 (), 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
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
, who had been the ''de facto'' leader of the party since the
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...
, was named Chairman of the Politburo of the CCP Central Committee (). 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
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
.
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
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
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
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2,9 ...
. 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.
China: Role of the CCP
at Encyclopedia Britannica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articl ...
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
Chairman of the Central Committee
List of vice chairmen
* 8th Central Committee (1956–1969)
** Liu Shaoqi (expelled in 1968), Zhou Enlai, Zhu De
Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...
, Chen Yun, Lin Biao
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
(from 1959).
* 9th Central Committee (1969–1973)
** Lin Biao
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
(died in 1971).
* 10th Central Committee (1973–1977)
** Hua Guofeng (First Vice-chairman from 6 April 1976, chairman from 9 September), Zhou Enlai (died in 1976), Wang Hongwen
Wang Hongwen (December 1935 – 3 August 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who spent most of his career in Shanghai. He was an important political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). He was the youngest member ...
(arrested in 1976), Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975) was a Chinese Communist politician best known for having overseen the CCP's internal security and intelligence apparatus during the early 1940s and again at the height of the Cultural Revolu ...
(died in 1975), Li Desheng, Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...
, Deng Xiaoping (from 1975 to 1976, and from 1977).
* 11th Central Committee (1977–1982)
** Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...
, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Li Xiannian
Li Xiannian (pronounced ; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, President of the People's Republic of China (''de jure'' head of state) from 1983 to 1988 under Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping and t ...
, Wang Dongxing, Hua Guofeng (from 1981), Zhao Ziyang (from 1981).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chairman of the Communist Party Of China
Politics of China
1922 establishments in China
1925 disestablishments in China
1943 establishments in China
1982 disestablishments in China