Paramount leader

People's Republic of China

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Paramount leader (simplified Chinese: 党和国家最高领导人; traditional Chinese: 黨和國家最高領導人; pinyin: Dǎng hé guójiā zuìgāo lǐngdǎorén) literally "the highest leader of the party (Communist Party of China) and the state (People's Republic of China)", in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China.

Until the mid-1990s, the paramount leader was able to wield power without necessarily holding any official or formally significant governmental position. The most notable example is former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who held supreme power in the People's Republic of China roughly from 1978 to 1992 without officially holding the top political offices.

However with the passing of the Long March generation and institutionalization of power within the PRC, political power has become much more associated with the holding of political offices. In particular, since the transfer of power to Hu Jintao and the fourth generation leadership, the previous generation of Chinese leaders including Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji have not played an active role in political decision-making. Recently, the General Secretary holds the authority of paramount leader in China and the current Paramount Leader of China is Hu Jintao.

At present, the paramount leader usually holds the following posts:

Contents

History

The term was commonly applied to Mao Zedong, who at times ruled with practically absolute power, and Deng Xiaoping, who was the most influential person in the PRC despite not holding the most powerful official positions. Following the death of Deng Xiaoping, the term has seldom been used since power is held more-or-less collectively by the members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China with the General Secretary acting as a first among equals figure and different factions jockeying for influence. Policy decisions are thought to be made via majority vote of Standing Committee members following internal discussions.[2] For example, though Jiang Zemin left the Standing Committee in 2002 and resigned all his posts in 2004, members of the Shanghai clique (of which Jiang is a member) retained a majority in the Standing Committee.

Hua Guofeng is generally not considered in the generational order of paramount leaders, as he was ousted from power by Deng Xiaoping in 1981.

Leadership transition takes several months. For instance, in the case of Hu Jintao:

Usually the office as Chairman of the Central Military Commission is the last office handed over by the previous paramount leader, in order to secure political influence and ensure political continuity.

List of paramount leaders

To date, "paramount leader" has been applied to five individual Chinese statesmen (dates approximate and open to dispute):


      First generation       Second generation       Third generation       Fourth generation

Picture Name Offices Held Period Supreme Rule Ideology
Mao Zedong
毛泽东（毛澤東）
1893–1976
Beijing At-large
 Chairman of the CPC Central Politburo March 20, 1943 - September 28, 1956 October 1, 1949
↓
September 9, 1976
(approx. 9840 days)		 Mao Zedong Thought
Chairman of the CPC Central Secretariat
Chairman of the CPC Central Committee June 19, 1945 - September 9, 1976
Chairman of the PRC Central People's Government October 1, 1949 - September 27, 1954
Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee October 9, 1949 - December 25, 1954
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission September 8, 1954 - September 9, 1976
Chairman of the PRC September 27, 1954 - April 27, 1959
Hua Guofeng
华国锋（華國鋒）
1893–1976
Hunan At-large (64-78)
Beijing At-large (78-83)
 Premier of the PRC State Council February 4, 1976 - September 1980 September 9, 1976
↓
December 22, 1978
(approx. 834 days)		 Two Whatevers
Chairman of the CPC Central Committee September 9, 1976 - December 22, 1978
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission October 6, 1976 - June 28, 1981
Deng Xiaoping
邓小平（鄧小平）
1893–1976
Beijing At-large (59–64,78–83)
PLA At-large (83–97)
 1st Vice Premier of the PRC State Council January 17, 1975 – June 18, 1983 December 22, 1978
↓
October 12, 1992
(approx. 5043 days)		 Deng Xiaoping Theory
Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee March 8, 1978 - June 17, 1983
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission June 28, 1981 - November 9, 1989
Chairman of the CPC Central Advisory Commission 13 September 1982 - 2 November 1987
Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission June 6, 1983 - March 19, 1990
Jiang Zemin
江泽民（江澤民）
1926-
Shanghai At-large (88-08)
 General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee June 24, 1989 – November 25, 2002 October 12, 1992
↓
September 19, 2004
(approx. 4360 days)		 Three Represents
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission November 9, 1989 - September 19, 2004
Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission March 19, 1990 - March 13, 2005
President of the PRC March 27, 1993 - March 15, 2003
Hu Jintao
胡锦涛（胡錦濤）
1942-
Guizhou At-large (88-93,98-03)
Tibet At-large (93-98,03-08)
Zhejiang At-large (08-)
 General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee November 15, 2002 - Incumbent September 19, 2004
↓
Incumbent
(approx. 2707 days)		 Scientific Development Concept
President of the PRC March 15, 2003 - Incumbent
Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission September 19, 2004 - Incumbent
Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission March 13, 2005 - Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ^ SECTION 2, Article 80&81
  2. ^ BBC: How China is ruled