The
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially
General SecretaryThe office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of ChinaThe Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
, is the highest ranking official within the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, a standing member of the
PolitburoThe Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China or Political bureau of the CPC Central Committee , formerly as Central Bureau before 1927, is a group of 24 people who oversee the Communist Party of China...
and head of the
SecretariatThe Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee is the permanent bureaucracy of the Communist Party of China and forms a parallel structure to state organizations in the People's Republic of China....
. Also the post holders are usually the
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
leaders of the
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Powers and position
Since the abolition of the post
Chairman of the Communist Party of ChinaThe Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was the head of the Communist Party of China . In 1982, it was succeeded by the General Secretary of the Central Committee.-History and functions:...
in 1982, the
General SecretaryThe office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
is the highest ranking official of the party and heads the
SecretariatThe Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee is the permanent bureaucracy of the Communist Party of China and forms a parallel structure to state organizations in the People's Republic of China....
,
Politburo of the PartyThe Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China or Political bureau of the CPC Central Committee , formerly as Central Bureau before 1927, is a group of 24 people who oversee the Communist Party of China...
and its
Standing CommitteeThe Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Communist Party of China, whose membership varies between 5 and 9 people. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are...
.
Recently, the General Secretary holds the authority of
Paramount leaderParamount leader literally "the highest leader of the party and the state ", in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China....
in
ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Also China is a
Single-party stateA single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
that General Secretary holds the highest Political position ranking of PRC which is the most powerful position in the
Chinese governmentAll power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
.
For a list of office-holders, see
List of leaders of the Communist Party of China.
Chen Duxiu
In June 1920,
CominternThe Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
agent
Grigori VoitinskyGrigori Naumovich Voitinsky aka Zarkhin was a Comintern official during its creation, and was sent to China in 1920 as an advisor to contact the prominent Chinese radicals such as Chen Duxiu, just before the formation of the Communist Party of China...
was sent to China, and met
Li DazhaoLi Dazhao was a Chinese intellectual who co-founded the Communist Party of China with Chen Duxiu in 1921.-Early life:...
and
Chen DuxiuChen Duxiu played many different roles in Chinese history. He was a leading figure in the anti-imperial Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement for Science and Democracy. Along with Li Dazhao, Chen was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. He was its first General Secretary....
, the Chinese Communist Party was formed under the guideline of the
CominternThe Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
, and was its first Chairman and first General Secretary. Chen was expelled from the CPC due to conflict with Comintern agents, and in 1942 died of heart attack.
Wang Ming
The
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, through the vehicle of the Comintern, was using Wang Ming to control the operating of the CPC.
According to Jung Chang in
Mao: The Unknown StoryMao: The Unknown Story is a 2005 biography of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong written by the husband and wife team of writer Jung Chang and historian Jon Halliday, and depicts Mao as being responsible for more deaths in peacetime than Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin.In conducting their research...
, Mao Zedong tried to assassinate Wang Ming using poison.
Wang Ming died in 1974 in Moscow.
Xiang Zhongfa
Xiang Zhongfa was the General Secretary in 1928–1931.
In October 1927, the Comintern asked the CPC to organize a delegation to Moscow to attend the celebration ceremony of 10th anniversary of the
October RevolutionThe October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, and Xiang was elected to be the director of the delegation to the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In January 1928 Xiang wrote letters to
Joseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and
Nikolai BukharinNikolai Ivanovich Bukharin , was a Russian Marxist, Bolshevik revolutionary, and Soviet politician. He was a member of the Politburo and Central Committee , chairman of the Communist International , and the editor in chief of Pravda , the journal Bolshevik , Izvestia , and the Great Soviet...
, denouncing the CPC. Then in March 1928, the Comintern asked the CCP to hold its 6th National Congress in Moscow.
Xiang Zhongfa was arrested by the KMT on June 21, 1931, then told the KMT all he knew of CPC.
Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
regarded Xiang as a useless defector, so ordered his exceution.
Li Lisan
Li Lisan was the General Secretary between 1929–1930, and reputed to have committed suicide during the
Cultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
.
Zhang Wentian
Zhang Wentian was the General Secretary between 1935–1943. He suffered prolonged persecution in the hands of
Red GuardsRed Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
during the Cultural Revolution and died in 1976.
In 1925, Zhang studied in Moscow
Moscow Sun Yat-sen UniversityMoscow Sun Yat-sen University, officially the Sun Yat-sen Communist University of the Toilers of China, was a Comintern school, which operated from 1925-1930. It was a training camp for Chinese revolutionaries from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China .-Origins:In 1923, Dr...
, where he established connection with
CominternThe Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
.
CPC leaders after PRC established
| Order |
Image |
Chairmen / General Secretaries |
Term Start |
Term End |
Chairman of the Central Committee (1945-1982) |
| 1 |
 |
Mao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
(毛泽东 / 毛澤東)
26 December 1893 - |
19 June 1945 |
9 September 1976 |
| 2 |
|
Hua GuofengSu Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...
(华国锋 / 華國鋒)
16 February 1921 - |
7 October 1976 |
28 June 1981 |
| 3 |
|
Hu YaobangHu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
(胡耀邦)
20 November 1915 - |
29 June 1981 |
11 September 1982 |
General Secretary of the Central Committee (1982-) |
| 1 |
|
Hu YaobangHu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
|
11 September 1982 |
15 January 1987 |
| Acting |
|
Zhao ZiyangZhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....
(赵紫阳 / 趙紫陽)
17 October 1919 - |
16 January 1987 |
1 November 1987 |
| 2 |
2 November 1987 |
23 June 1989 |
| 3 |
 |
Jiang ZeminJiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
(江泽民 / 江澤民)
17 August 1926 (age 85) |
24 June 1989 |
15 November 2002 |
| 4 |
|
Hu JintaoHu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
(胡锦涛 / 胡錦濤)
21 December 1942 (age 69) |
16 November 2002 |
Present |
|
>
See also