General Secretary of Chinese Communist Party
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The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the
head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the
paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
of the PRC.


Overview

According to the
Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party The Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party has 53 articles and its contents describe the program of the Party, as well as its organizational structure and Party symbolism. History The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s constitution curren ...
, the general secretary serves as an ''ex officio'' member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's '' de facto'' top decision-making body. The general secretary is also the head of the Secretariat. Since 1989, the holder of the post has been, except for transitional periods, the
Chairman of the Central Military Commission Chairman of the Central Military Commission may refer to: *Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China) *Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea See also *Secretary of the Central Military Commission of the ...
, making the holder the supreme commander of the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. The position of general secretary is the highest authority leading China's National People's Congress,
State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
,
Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
, Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate in the Chinese government. As the top leader of the world's largest economy by GDP purchasing power parity (PPP), the second largest economy by GDP nominal, the
largest military This is a list of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel. It includes any government-sponsored soldiers used to further the domestic and foreign policies of their respective government. The term "country" is used in its most ...
in the world by personnel, a recognized nuclear weapons state, U.N. Security Council permanent member, and a
potential superpower A potential superpower is a state or a political and economic entity that is speculated to be—or to have the potential to soon become—a superpower. Currently, only the United States fulfills the criteria to be considered a superpower. How ...
, the general secretary is considered to be one of the world's most powerful political figures. The CCP general secretary is nominally elected by the
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...
. In practice, the ''de facto'' method of selecting the general secretary has varied over time. The two most recent general secretaries,
Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
and Xi Jinping, were first elevated to the position of first Secretary of the Secretariat in the same process used to determine the membership and roles of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee. Under this informal process, the first secretary would be chosen during deliberations by incumbent Politburo members and retired Politburo Standing Committee members in the lead up to a Party Congress. The first secretary would later succeed the retiring general secretary as part of a generational leadership transition at the subsequent party congress. The incumbent general secretary is Xi Jinping, who took office on 15 November 2012 and was re-elected twice on 25 October 2017 and 23 October 2022 respectively. Xi was speculated to rule the party and the country after the 20th National Congress in 2022, removing the previous ''de facto'' two- term limit, which was confirmed at the Congress. The last person to rule the country for more than two terms was Mao Zedong, who served as Chairman of the CCP Central Committee from 1945 until his death in 1976.


Powers and position

Since the abolition of the post of
Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party () was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The position was established at the 8th National Congress in 1945 and abolished at the 12th National Congress in 1982, bei ...
by the 12th Central Committee in 1982, the general secretary has been the highest-ranking official of the party and heads the Central Secretariat, Political Bureau and its Standing Committee. Since its revival in 1982, the post of general secretary has been the highest office in the CCP, though it did not become the most powerful post until Deng Xiaoping's retirement in 1990. As China is a one-party state, the general secretary holds ultimate power and authority over state and government, and is usually considered the "
paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
" of China. However, most of the people until Xi Jinping who have held the post have held far less power than Mao Zedong. Since the mid-1990s, the general secretary has traditionally also held the post of
president of China The president of China, officially titled the president of the People's Republic of China, is the List of state representatives of the People's Republic of China, state representative of the China, People's Republic of China, which on its own ...
. While the presidency is a ceremonial post, it is customary for the general secretary to assume the presidency to confirm his status as head of state. Since Xi Jinping's election, two new bodies of the CCP, the
National Security Commission The Central National Security Commission (CNSC; ) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was established at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee in November 2013, during what was considered a "major reg ...
and Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission, have been established, ostensibly concentrating political power in the "paramount leader" to a greater degree than anyone since Mao. These bodies were tasked with establishing the general policy direction for national security as well as the agenda for economic reform. Both groups are headed by the CCP general secretary, thus the power of the general secretary has become more concentrated.


List of general secretaries


See also

*
Office of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The Office of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party often referred to as the General Secretary's Office (总书记办公室) is a bureau whose staff is assigned to work directly under the Chinese Communist ...
* Leadership core *
Orders of precedence in China The orders of precedence in China is the ranking of political leaders in China for the purposes of event protocol and to arrange the ordering of names in official news bulletins, both written and televised. It is also sometimes used to assess ...
*
Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party () was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The position was established at the 8th National Congress in 1945 and abolished at the 12th National Congress in 1982, bei ...
*
Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party The Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party () was the second-highest rank after the Chairman within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1956 to 1982. The position was phased out after 1982 in order to remove the " ...
* Secretary-general of the Chinese Communist Party


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Secretary Of The Communist Party Of China Leaders of political parties in China 1921 establishments in China