Paramount leader

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Paramount Leader (simplified Chinese: 党和国家最高领导人; pinyin: dǎng hé guójiā zuìgāo lǐngdǎorén, literally "the highest leader of the party and the country"), in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China who holds absolute influences over culture, media, or controls the three branches of the Chinese political system (Communist Party of China, Central People's Government and People's Liberation Army) that hold real power. The current Paramount Leader of China is Hu Jintao.

At present, the paramount leader usually has held:

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China（The highest ranking position in the Party）(Chinese:中共中央总书记)
President of the People's Republic of China（The head of state - Powerless figurehead）(Chinese:中华人民共和国主席)
Chairman of the Central Military Commission（Commander-in-chief of the armed forces）(Chinese:中央军事委员会主席)

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 1989 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, the previous generation of Chinese leaders including Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji have not played an active role in political decision-making.

[edit] 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 President 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.^[1]. 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) still retain a majority in the Standing Committee.

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

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (November 2002)
President of the People's Republic of China (March 2003)
Chairman of the Central Military Commission (September 2004)

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.

[edit] 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

Name	Title	Period	Supreme Rule
Mao Zedong 毛泽东	Chairman of the Communist Party of China	March 20, 1943 - September 9, 1976	October 1, 1949 - September 9, 1976
	Chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	October 1, 1949 - 1954
	Chairman of the People's Republic of China	September 27, 1954 - April 27, 1959
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of CCP	September 8, 1954 - September 9, 1976
Hua Guofeng 华国锋	Chairman of the Communist Party of China	September 9, 1976 - June 1981	September 9, 1976 - December 22, 1978
	Premier of the People's Republic of China	February 4, 1976 - September 1980
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of CCP	October 6, 1976 - June 1981
Deng Xiaoping 邓小平	Chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference	June 1981 - June 1983	December 22, 1978 - October 12, 1992
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of PRC	1983 - 1990
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of CCP	June 1981 - November 9, 1989
Jiang Zemin 江泽民	General Secretary of the Communist Party of China	June 24, 1989 – November 25, 2002	October 12, 1992 - September 19, 2004
	President of the People's Republic of China	March 27, 1993 - March 23, 2003
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of PRC	1990 - 2005
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of CCP	November 9, 1989 - September 19, 2004
Hu Jintao 胡锦涛	General Secretary of the Communist Party of China	November 25, 2002 - Incumbent	September 19, 2004 - Incumbent
	President of the People's Republic of China	March 23, 2003 - Incumbent
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of PRC	2005 - Incumbent
	Chairman of the Central Military Commission of CCP	September 19, 2004 - Incumbent