Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997), courtesy name Xixian(希賢) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 until his retirement in 1989. After Chairman Mao Zedong's death, Deng led his country through far-reaching market-economy reforms. While Deng never held office as the head of state, head of government or General Secretary (that is, the leader of the Communist Party), he nonetheless was responsible for economic reforms and an opening to the global economy. His official state positions are Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1978 – 1983 and Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China from 1983 – 1990, while his official party positions are Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1977 – 1982 and Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China from 1981 – 1989. Born into a peasant background in Guang'an, Sichuan province, Deng studied and worked in France in the 1920s, where he was convinced of Marxism-Leninism. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1923. Upon his return to China he joined the party organization in Shanghai, then was a political commissar for the Red Army in rural regions and by the late 1930s was considered a "revolutionary veteran" because he participated in the Long March. Following the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, Deng worked in Tibet and the southwest region to consolidate Communist control. As the party's Secretary General in the 1950s, Deng presided over anti-rightist campaigns and became instrumental in China's economic reconstruction following the Great Leap Forward of 1957–196