# Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)

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.
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. 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. According to both the CCP constitution and the state constitution, the chairman assumes overall responsibility over the work of the CMC. The office confers military ranks, though regulations stipulate that no military rank shall be conferred on the chairman themselves.
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. The state CMC chairman is officially nominated by the Presidium of the NPC during a session and approved by the delegations of the NPC, and its term of office is the same as the NPC. According to the Party constitution, the Party CMC chairman is officially elected by the CCP's Central Committee.

## 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. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office |
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | 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 Central Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic ||||||
| 6 | | Xiang Ying (c. 1895–1941) | January 1932 | October 1932 | 9 months |
| 7 | | Zhu De (1886–1976) | October 1932 | December 1936 | 4 years, 2 months |
| 8 | | Mao Zedong (1893–1976) | December 1936 | 1 October 1949 | 12 years, 10 months |
| Abolished 1 October 1949 – 8 September 1954 ||||||
| Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party ||||||
| (8) | | Mao Zedong (1893–1976) | 8 September 1954 | 9 September 1976 † | 22 years, 1 day |
| 9 | | Hua Guofeng (1921–2008) | 7 October 1976 | 28 June 1981 | 4 years, 264 days |
| 10 | | Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) | 28 June 1981 | 9 November 1989 | 8 years, 134 days |
| 11 | | Jiang Zemin (1926–2022) | 9 November 1989 | 19 September 2004 | 14 years, 315 days |
| 12 | | Hu Jintao (born 1942) | 19 September 2004 | 15 November 2012 | 8 years, 57 days |
| 13 | | Xi Jinping (born 1953) | 15 November 2012 | Incumbent | 12 years, 121 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. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office |
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | 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) | 1 October 1949 | 27 September 1954 | 4 years, 361 days |
| Chairman of the People's Republic of China & Chairman of the National Defense Council ||||||
| (1) | | Mao Zedong (1893–1976) | 27 September 1954 | 27 April 1959 | 4 years, 212 days |
| 2 | | Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969) | 27 April 1959 | 31 October 1968 | 9 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 (1904–1997) | 6 June 1983 | 19 March 1990 | 6 years, 284 days |
| 4 | | Jiang Zemin (1926–2022) | 19 March 1990 | 8 March 2005 | 14 years, 354 days |
| 5 | | Hu Jintao (born 1942) | 8 March 2005 | 14 March 2013 | 8 years, 6 days |
| 6 | | Xi Jinping (born 1953) | 14 March 2013 | Incumbent | 12 years, 2 days |