General Secretary of the Communist Party of China

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 中国共产党中央委员会总书记
Emblem of the Communist Party of China
Incumbent Xi Jinping since 15 November 2012
Residence	Zhongnanhai
Appointer	the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Term length	Five Years
Inaugural holder	Chen Duxiu (1925) Hu Yaobang (1982)
Formation	1925-1943 September, 1982
Website	Top Leadership

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The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (simplified Chinese: 中国共产党中央委员会总书记; traditional Chinese: 中國共產黨中央委員會總書記; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì), officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat.

According to the Constitution, the General Secretary must be a member of Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body. Since the early 1990s, the holder of the post has except for transitional periods, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission making the holder the leader of the People's Republic of China.

Powers and position

Since the abolition of the post Chairman of the Communist Party of China in 1982, the General Secretary is the highest-ranking official of the party and heads the Central Secretariat, Political bureau and its Standing Committee.

Since its founding, the most important position in the PRC has been that of the General Secretary (or Chairman from 1922 to 1925 and 1943 to 1982). As a single party state, the Communist party leader holds ultimate power and authority over state and government.

List of general secretaries

Main article: List of general secretaries and chairmen of the Communist Party of China

• 

  Chen Duxiu
  (served: 1921-1922, 1925-1927)

• 

  Xiang Zhongfa
  (served: 1927-1931)

• 

  Bo Gu
  (served: 1931-1935)

• 

  Zhang Wentian
  (served: 1935-1943)

• 

  Mao Zedong
  (served as Chairman: 1943-1976)

• 

  Hua Guofeng
  (served as Chairman: 1976-1981)

• 

  Hu Yaobang
  (served: 1982-1987)

• 

  Zhao Ziyang
  (served: 1987-1989)

• 

  Jiang Zemin
  (served: 1989-2002)

• 

  Hu Jintao
  (served: 2002-2012)

• 

  Xi Jinping
  (served: 2012-present)

See also

• Paramount leader
• Chairman of the Communist Party of China
• List of leaders of the Communist Party of China
• Orders of precedence in the People's Republic of China

References

• China Online Encyclopedia