Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)

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Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China
中国共产党中央军事委员会主席
中华人民共和国中央军事委员会主席
Danghui.svg
National Emblem of the People's Republic of China (2).svg
Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 13, 2025 (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Xi Jinping
since 15 November 2012 (party commission)
14 March 2013 (state commission)
Central Military Commission
Style
Type Commander-in-chief
Status National-level official
Residence Zhongnanhai
Seat "August 1st Building", Beijing
Nominator Party Central Committee (party commission)
Presidium of the National People's Congress (state commission)
AppointerParty Central Committee (party commission)
National People's Congress (state commission)
Term length Five years, renewable
Inaugural holder Zhang Guotao (party commission)
Mao Zedong (state commission)
FormationDecember 1925;99 years ago (1925-12) (party commission)
October 1949;75 years ago (1949-10) (state commission)
Deputy Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Simplified Chinese 中央军事委员会主席
Traditional Chinese 中央軍事委員會主席
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngyāng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì Zhǔxí

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), the People's Armed Police (PAP) and the Militia. The officeholder is additionally vested with the command authority over China's nuclear arsenals.

Contents

There are technically two offices with the same name, including the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) CMC and chairman of the People's Republic of China (PRC) CMC. However, under the arrangement of "one institution with two names", they function as one office. [1] The officeholder is usually the CCP general secretary; this grants significant political power as the only member of the Politburo Standing Committee with direct responsibilities for the armed forces. [2] According to both the CCP constitution and the state constitution, the chairman assumes overall responsibility over the work of the CMC. [3] [4] The office confers military ranks, though regulations stipulate that no military rank shall be conferred on the chairman themselves. [5]

The current chairman is Xi Jinping, who took office as the Chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission on 15 November 2012, and as the Chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission on 14 March 2013.

Election

According to the Constitution, the state CMC chairman is responsible to the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee. [3] The state CMC chairman is officially nominated by the Presidium of the NPC during a session and approved by the delegations of the NPC, [6] and its term of office is the same as the NPC. [3] According to the Party constitution, the Party CMC chairman is officially elected by the CCP's Central Committee. [4]

List of chairmen

Chinese Communist Party

The following have held the position of chair of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party:

No.PortraitName
(birth–death)
Term of office
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
Head of the Military Department
1 Zhang Guotao3.jpg Zhang Guotao
(1897–1979)
December 1925September 19269 months
Secretary of the Central Military Commission
2 Guo Gong Nei Zhan Shi Qi Zhou En Lai .jpg Zhou Enlai
(1898–1976)
September 1926October 19282 years, 1 month
Head of the Military Department
3 Yangyin.jpg Yang Yin
(1892–1929)
October 1928September 192911 months
(2) Guo Gong Nei Zhan Shi Qi Zhou En Lai .jpg Zhou Enlai
(1898–1976)
September 1929March 19306 months
Secretary of the Central Military Commission
4 Guan Xiangying.jpg Guan Xiangying
(1902–1946)
March 1930August 19305 months
(2) Guo Gong Nei Zhan Shi Qi Zhou En Lai .jpg Zhou Enlai
(1898–1976)
August 1930June 193110 months
Head of the Military Department
5 Li Fuchun.jpg Li Fuchun
(1900–1975)
June 1931January 19327 months
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic
6 XIang Ying.jpg Xiang Ying
(c.1895–1941)
January 1932October 19329 months
7 Zhu De3 (cropped).jpg Zhu De
(1886–1976)
October 1932December 19364 years, 2 months
8 1967-10 1936Nian Mao Ze Dong Zai Shan Bei .jpg Mao Zedong
(1893–1976)
December 19361 October 194912 years, 10 months
Abolished
1 October 1949 – 8 September 1954
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party
(8) Mao Zedong in 1954 at the 1st National People's Congress promulgating the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, PRC consitution vote (cropped).jpg Mao Zedong
(1893–1976)
8 September 1954 9 September 1976 † 22 years, 1 day
9 Musee de Bretagne - Hua Guofeng 197904-02 (cropped).jpg Hua Guofeng
(1921–2008)
7 October 197628 June 19814 years, 264 days
10 Deng Xiaoping and Jimmy Carter at the arrival ceremony for the Vice Premier of China. - NARA - 183157-restored(cropped).jpg Deng Xiaoping
(1904–1997)
28 June 19819 November 19898 years, 134 days
11 Jiang Zemin 2002.jpg Jiang Zemin
(1926–2022)
9 November 198919 September 200414 years, 315 days
12 Hu Jintao 2012.jpg Hu Jintao
(born 1942)
19 September 200415 November 20128 years, 57 days
13 Xi Jinping (2023-04-06).jpg Xi Jinping
(born 1953)
15 November 2012Incumbent12 years, 233 days

People's Republic of China

The following have held the position of chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China:

No.PortraitName
(birth–death)
Term of office
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government
1 Mao Zedong in jeep (cropped).jpg Mao Zedong
(1893–1976)
1 October 194927 September 19544 years, 361 days
Chairman of the People's Republic of China & Chairman of the National Defense Council
(1) Mao Zedong in 1954 at the 1st National People's Congress promulgating the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, PRC consitution vote (cropped).jpg Mao Zedong
(1893–1976)
27 September 195427 April 19594 years, 212 days
2 Liu Shaoqi in 1959.jpg Liu Shaoqi
(1898–1969)
27 April 195931 October 19689 years, 187 days
Vacant
31 October 1968 – 17 January 1975
Abolished
17 January 1975 – December 1982
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China
3 Deng Xiaoping and Jimmy Carter at the arrival ceremony for the Vice Premier of China. - NARA - 183157-restored(cropped).jpg Deng Xiaoping
(1904–1997)
6 June 198319 March 19906 years, 284 days
4 Jiang Zemin 2002.jpg Jiang Zemin
(1926–2022)
19 March 19908 March 200514 years, 354 days
5 Hu Jintao 2012.jpg Hu Jintao
(born 1942)
8 March 200514 March 20138 years, 6 days
6 Xi Jinping (2023-04-06).jpg Xi Jinping
(born 1953)
14 March 2013Incumbent12 years, 114 days

See also

References

  1. Liu, Zhen (18 October 2022). "What is China's Central Military Commission and why is it so powerful?". South China Morning Post . Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. Saunders et al. 2019, p. 521.
  3. 1 2 3 "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress . Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 Panyue, Huang (27 October 2022). "Full text of Constitution of Communist Party of China - China Military". China Military. Xinhua News Agency . Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. "Regulations on the Military Ranks of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army". National People's Congress . Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  6. "Organic Law of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress . 11 March 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

Works cited

Saunders, Phillip C.; Ding, Arthur S.; Scobell, Andrew; Yang, Andrew N.D.; Joel, Wuthnow, eds. (2019). Chairman Xi Remakes the PLA: Assessing Chinese Military Reforms. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press. ISBN   978-1070233420.