Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)

Last updated

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 July 2024.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 leader 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;98 years ago (1925-12) (party commission)
October 1949;75 years ago (1949-10) (state commission)
Deputy Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Website Chairmanship
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 2012Incumbent11 years, 344 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 2013Incumbent11 years, 224 days

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Council of the People's Republic of China</span> Chief administrative authority of the Peoples Republic of China

The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and the national cabinet of China. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the executive organ of the National People's Congress, the highest organ of state power. It is composed of the premier, vice premiers, state councilors, ministers of ministries, directors of committees, the auditor general, and the secretary-general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Liberation Army</span> Combined military forces of the Peoples Republic of China

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China. It consists of four services—Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force—and four arms—Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force, and Joint Logistics Support Force. It is led by the Central Military Commission (CMC) with its chairman as commander-in-chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Military Commission (China)</span> Peoples Republic of China political bodies governing the military

The Central Military Commission (CMC) is the highest military leadership body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC), which heads the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Armed Police (PAP), and the Militia of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party</span> Head of the Chinese Communist Party

The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the leader 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 of the PRC.

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 perceived level of political power. Although there is no formally published ranking, there is usually an established convention and protocol, and the relative positions of Chinese political figures can usually be deduced from the order in meetings and especially by the time and order in which figures are covered by the official media. Since 1982, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party has been the highest-ranking official in the People's Republic of China (PRC).

In the People's Republic of China (PRC), supreme command of the armed forces is exercised by the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A parallel state CMC exists. Legally the two CMCs have separate responsibilities, but the distinction is practically irrelevant because the bodies typically have the same members. Since the 2000s, the CCP General Secretary chairs the CMC, and represents the armed forces in the Politburo Standing Committee, the country's ruling body.

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 holding the titles of CCP General Secretary and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). The state representative, head of state (president) or head of government (premier) are not necessarily paramount leader—under China's party-state system, CCP roles are politically more important than state titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minister of National Defense (China)</span> State Council position in China

The Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China is the head of the Ministry of National Defense and one of the top positions in the State Council. The minister usually is also a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the top governing body of China's armed forces including the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of China</span> Government of the Peoples Republic of China

The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's congresses. This system is based on the principle of unified state power, in which the legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), is constitutionally enshrined as "the highest state organ of power." As China's political system has no separation of powers, there is only one branch of government which is represented by the legislature. The CCP through the NPC enacts unified leadership, which requires that all state organs, from the Supreme People's Court to the President of China, are elected by, answerable to, and have no separate powers than those granted to them by the NPC. By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP. The CCP controls appointments in all state bodies through a two-thirds majority in the NPC. The remaining seats are held by nominally independent delegates and eight minor political parties, which are non-oppositional and support the CCP. All government bodies and state-owned enterprises have internal CCP committees that lead the decision-making in these institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chi Haotian</span> Former Minister of National Defence of China

Chi Haotian, also spelled as Chih Hao-tien, is a retired general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He served as Minister of National Defense from 1993 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhang Wannian</span> Chinese general

Zhang Wannian was a general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhang Youxia</span> General of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army

Zhang Youxia is a Chinese general in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and currently the first-ranked vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress</span> High constitutional office of China

The chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is the presiding officer of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), which is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of China.

The succession of power in China since 1949 takes place in the context of a one-party state under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Despite the guarantee of universal franchise in the constitution, the appointment of the Paramount leader lies largely in the hands of his predecessor and the powerful factions that control the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National People's Congress</span> National legislature of the Peoples Republic of China

The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China. The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the State Council to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) are subservient to it. With 2,977 members in 2023, it is the largest legislative body in the world. The NPC is elected for a term of five years. It holds annual sessions every spring, usually lasting from 10 to 14 days, in the Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission</span>

The Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission are deputies to the chairman of the Central Military Commission. Currently, two generals of the People's Liberation Army are serving as vice chairmen: first-ranked vice chairman Zhang Youxia and second-ranked vice chairman He Weidong. According to military regulations, the vice chairmen are granted the rank of general by the virtue of their posts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of China</span> State representative of China

The president of China, officially titled the president of the People's Republic of China, is the state representative of the People's Republic of China. On its own, it is a ceremonial office and has no real power in China's political system. While the office has many of the characteristics of a head of state, the Constitution of China does not define it as such. However, since 1993, the post has been held by the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission, who is China's de facto leader.

The People's Republic of China military reform of 2015 was a major restructuring of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which flattened the command structure and allowed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to have more control over the military, with the aim of strengthening the combat capability of the PLA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li Shangfu</span> Chinese engineer and former military administrator

Li Shangfu is a Chinese aerospace engineer and former military administrator. He served as the 13th Minister of National Defense and as State Councillor of China from March to October 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese National Day Parade</span> Military parade held in Beijing, China

The National Day Parade, officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China Parade, is a civil-military parade event held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, on the National Day of the People's Republic of China on 1 October. It is organized by the People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police and the Militia, as well as civilian groups of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It has been held every decade since 1959, annually from 1950 to 1959, and has been broadcast live on China Central Television since 1984.

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.