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The Politburo of the Communist Party of China (Chinese: 中国共产党中央政治局 pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Zhèngzhìjú) (also "Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee"), formerly as Central Bureau (中央局) before 1927, is a group of 19 to 25 people who oversee the Communist Party of China. Unlike politburos (political bureaus) of other Communist parties, power within the politburo is centralized in the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. The Politburo is nominally appointed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China but the practice since the 1980s has been that the Politburo is self-perpetuating.
The power of the Politburo resides largely in the fact that its members generally simultaneously hold positions within the People's Republic of China state positions and with the control over personnel appointments that the Politburo and Secretariat have. In addition, some Politburo members hold powerful regional positions. How the Politburo works internally is unclear, but it appears that the full Politburo meets once a month and the standing committee meets weekly. This is believed to be much more infrequent than the former Soviet Politburo had been. The agenda for the meetings appears to be controlled by the General Secretary and decisions are made by consensus rather than by majority vote.
The Politburo was eclipsed by the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in the early 1980s under Hu Yaobang,[1] but has re-emerged as a dominant force after Hu's ousting in 1987.
[edit] Current (17th) Politburo members
- In stroke order of surnames:
- Xi Jinping, Top ranked member of CPC Secretariat, in charge of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
- Wang Gang, Vice-Chair of CPPCC
- Wang Lequan, Party chief of Xinjiang Autonomous Region
- Wang Zhaoguo, Vice-Chairman of National People's Congress
- Wang Qishan, Vice-Premier
- Hui Liangyu, Vice-Premier
- Liu Qi, Party chief of Beijing, head of Beijing Olympics organizing committee
- Liu Yunshan, Media and Communications minister, Secretary in CPC Central Secretariat
- Liu Yandong, State Councilors
- Li Changchun, propaganda chief
- Li Keqiang, Executive Vice-Premier
- Li Yuanchao, CPC Organization Department head
- Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee
- Wang Yang, Party chief of Guangdong
- Zhang Gaoli, Party chief of Tianjin
- Zhang Dejiang, Vice-Premier
- Zhou Yongkang, Head of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee
- Hu Jintao, General Secretary, President, Central Military Commission Chairman
- Yu Zhengsheng, Party chief of Shanghai
- He Guoqiang, Head of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
- Jia Qinglin, head of the People's Political Consultative Conference
- Xu Caihou, Vice-Chairman of Central Military Commission
- Guo Boxiong, Executive Vice-Chairman of Central Military Commission
- Wen Jiabao, Premier
- Bo Xilai, Party chief of Chongqing
[edit] 16th Politburo members
- In stroke order of surnames:
[edit] 15th Politburo members
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Li, Cheng et. al. (2008). China's Changing Political Landscape, Washington: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-8157-5209-7.
[edit] External links
