The leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest-ranking official and head of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP). Since 1982, the General Secretary of the Central Committee is considered the party's leader. Since its formation in 1921, the leader's post has been titled as Secretary of the Central Bureau (1921–1922),

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

(1922–1925, 1928–1931, and 1943–1982), and General Secretary (1925–1928, 1931–1943, and 1982 onwards). By custom the party leader has either been elected by the CCP Central Committee or the Central Politburo. There were several name changes until

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

finally formalized the office of Chairman of the Central Committee. Since 1982, the CCP National Congress and its 1st CC Plenary Session has been the main institutional setting in which the CCP leadership are elected. From 1992 onwards, every party leader has been elected by a 1st CC Plenary Session. In the period 1928–45 the CCP leader was elected by conference, meetings of the Central Committee or by decisions of the Politburo. The last exception to this rule is

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...

, who was elected at the 4th Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee in the aftermath of the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

. Currently, to be nominated for the office of general secretary, one has to be a member of the CCP

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...

, the top decision body. Despite breaching the

Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party The Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party has 55 articles and its contents describe the program of the party, as well as its organizational structure and party symbolism. The Chinese Communist Party adopted its first program at the 1st ...

, several individuals (who are not included in the list) have been ''de facto'' leaders of the CCP without holding formal positions of power. Wang Ming was briefly in charge in 1931 after Xiang Zhongfa was jailed by

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

forces, while Li Lisan is considered to have been the real person in-charge for most of Xiang's tenure. Mao was reckoned as the CCP's actual leader from the

Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...

onward before formally becoming Chairman in 1943. Beginning in the 1980s, the CCP leadership desired to prevent a single leader from rising above the party, as Chairman Mao had done. Accordingly, the post of CCP Chairman was abolished in 1982. Most of its functions were transferred to the revived post of General Secretary.

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

is the last and only CCP official to become ''de facto'' leader of the CCP and

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...

of China despite having never served as chairman or general secretary. His highest post was Chairman of the Central Military Commission ( commander-in-chief).

Leader offices

Leaders

Timeline

References

Citations

Sources