Chairman of the Central Military Commission

The Chairman of the Central Military Commission (Chinese: 中央军事委员会主席) is the head of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and thereby the commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army. The officeholder is usually CCP General Secretary or CCP Chairman.

Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China 中国共产党中央军事委员会主席
Emblem of the Communist Party of China
Incumbent Xi Jinping since 15 November 2012
Seat	August 1st Building (de jure), Beijing
Appointer	the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Term length	Five years, no term limit
Inaugural holder	Mao Zedong
Formation	1945; 1954
Deputy	Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Website	Chairmanship

Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国中央军事委员会主席
National Emblem of the People's Republic of China
Incumbent Xi Jinping since 14 March 2013
Seat	August 1st Building (de jure), Beijing
Appointer	National People's Congress
Term length	Five years, no term limit
Inaugural holder	Deng Xiaoping
Formation	1982
Deputy	Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Website	Chairmanship

Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China
Simplified Chinese	中国共产党中央军事委员会主席
Traditional Chinese	中國共產黨中央軍事委員會主席
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Gòngchándǎng Zhōngyāng Jūnshì Wěiyuánhuì Zhǔxí
Abberviation(s): (CPC) CMC Chairman
Simplified Chinese	(中共)中央军委主席
Traditional Chinese	(中共)中央軍委主席
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin (Zhōnggòng) Zhōngyāng Jūnwěi Zhǔxí

According to Chapter 3, Section 4 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, "The Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China directs the armed forces of the country. The Central Military Commission is composed of the following: The Chairman; The Vice-Chairmen; and Members".[1] The term of office of the Central Military Commission is the same as that of the National People's Congress. Two people currently serve as Vice-Chairmen.

The CMC Chairman is the supreme commander of the world's largest military forces, People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police and People's Liberation Army militia. Furthermore, the officeholder is vested with the command authority over the nuclear arsenals.

According to the principle of "Party Commands the Gun", the officeholder of this post would also assume the responsibility of the state counterpart.

List of CMC Chairmen

CMC of the Chinese Communist Party

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

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
Head of the Military Department
1		Zhang Guotao (1897–1979)	December 1925	September 1926	9 months
Secretary of the Central Military Commission
2		Zhou Enlai (1898–1976)	September 1926	October 1928	2 years, 1 month
Head of the Military Department
3		Yang Yin (1892–1929)	October 1928	September 1929	11 months
(2)		Zhou Enlai (1898–1976)	September 1929	March 1930	6 months
Secretary of the Central Military Commission
4		Guan Xiangying (1902–1946)	March 1930	August 1930	5 months
(2)		Zhou Enlai (1898–1976)	August 1930	June 1931	10 months
Head of the Military Department
5		Li Fuchun (1900–1975)	June 1931	January 1932	7 months
Chairman of the Chinese Soviet Republic CMC
6		Xiang Ying (c. 1895–1941)	January 1931	October 1931	9 months
7		Zhu De (1886–1976)	October 1931	December 1936	5 years, 2 months
8		Mao Zedong (1893–1976)	December 1936	October 1949	12 years, 10 months
Abolished October 1949 – September 1954
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China
8		Mao Zedong (1893–1976) also Chairman of the CCP	September 1954	9 September 1976 †	22 years
9		Hua Guofeng (1921–2008) also Chairman of the CCP	October 1976	June 1981	4 years, 8 months
10		Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) also General Secretary of the CCP	June 1981	November 1989	8 years, 5 months
11		Jiang Zemin (born 1926) also General Secretary of the CCP	November 1989	September 2004	14 years, 10 months
12		Hu Jintao (born 1942) also General Secretary of the CCP	19 September 2004	15 November 2012	8 years, 1 month
13		Xi Jinping (born 1953) also General Secretary of the CCP	15 November 2012	Incumbent	8 years, 2 months

CMC of the People's Republic of China

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

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government
1		Mao Zedong (1893–1976)	October 1949	September 1954	4 years, 11 months
Chairman of the People's Republic of China and chairman of the National Defense Council
1		Mao Zedong (1893–1976)	September 1954	April 1959	4 years, 7 months
2		Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969)	April 1959	October 1968	9 years, 6 months
Vacant October 1968 – January 1975
Abolished January 1975 – December 1982
Chair of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China
3		Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) also CMC of the CCP	June 1983	April 1990	6 years, 10 months
4		Jiang Zemin (born 1926) also CMC of the CCP	April 1990	March 2005	14 years, 11 months
5		Hu Jintao (born 1942) also CMC of the CCP	March 2005	14 March 2013	8 years
5		Xi Jinping (born 1953) also CMC of the CCP	14 March 2013	Incumbent	7 years, 10 months

See also

• List of leaders of the People's Republic of China
• Supreme Military Command of the People's Republic of China
• Paramount leader

References

1. "Constitution of the People's Republic of China". National People's Congress, People's Republic of China. 14 March 2004. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.