The chairman of the Central Military Commission () is the head of the
Central Military Commission (CMC) and the
commander-in-chief of the
People's Liberation Army (PLA). There are technically two offices with the same name; the chairman 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 ...
(CCP) CMC and chairman of the People's Republic of China (PRC) CMC. However, they ''de facto'' function as one office. The officeholder is usually the
CCP general secretary
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
.
According to Chapter 3, Section 4 of the
Constitution of the PRC
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China. It was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, with further revisions about every five years. It is the fo ...
, "The Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China directs the armed forces of the country. The Central Military Commission is composed of the following: The Chairman; The Vice-Chairmen; and Members".
The term of office of the Central Military Commission is the same as that of 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 ...
. Two people currently serve as
vice chairmen.
The CMC chairman is the supreme commander of the world's largest military forces,
People's Liberation Army,
People's Armed Police and
People's Liberation Army militia. Furthermore, the officeholder is vested with the command authority over the
nuclear arsenals.
List of chairmen
Party
The following have held the position of chair of the
Central Military Commission 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 ...
:
State
The following have held the position of chairman of the Central Military Commission of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
:
See also
*
List of leaders of the People's Republic of China
This is a list of leaders of the China's Government institutions. Each institution of China is headed by a chairperson or secretary, with some being more prominent than others. The paramount leader holds the highest authority of the Chinese C ...
*
Supreme Military Command of the People's Republic of China
Throughout the history of the People's Republic of China, the position that effectively reigned as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces changed from time to time. During some periods, it was not exactly clear who was the supreme commander ...
*
Paramount leader
References
{{People's Liberation Army
Central Military Commission (China)
Chinese government officials
Commanders in chief