Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |
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Appointer | Vote within the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress |
Term length |
five years, renewable once consecutively |
Inaugural holder | Liu Shaoqi |
Formation | September 27, 1954 |
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 全國人民代表大會常務委員會委員長 | ||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 全国人民代表大会常务委员会委员长 | ||||||
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Commonly abbreviated as | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 全國人大常委會委員長 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 全国人大常委会委员长 | ||||||
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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 of the People's Republic of China, which is considered China's top legislative body. The current Chairman is Zhang Dejiang.
From 1998 to 2013, the position has been ranked second in China's political hierarchy since Li Peng was barred from seeking a third term as Premier in 1998. In the political order of precedence, the Chair ranks below the CPC General Secretary and President. From 2013 onwards, the Chair, Zhang Dejiang, has ranked below the Premier, Li Keqiang. The ranking of this position is not necessarily reflective of its actual power, which varies depending on the officeholder.
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of China |
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Powers
The position holds reserve constitutional powers under the 1982 revision of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. As stipulated in Article 84 of the Constitution, should both the President and Vice-President become incapacitated, and the National People's Congress is unable to elect a timely replacement, the Chairman of the NPC will act as President.[1]
From 1975 to 1983, the NPC chairman was China's head of state, as the post of President of China was abolished.
Theoretically, during the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989, the NPC Chair at the time, Wan Li, had the power to call an emergency session of the NPC to resolve the issue constitutionally. However, Wan's freedom of movement was restricted, and ultimately was powerless in the situation.
Chairpersons
Head of State (under the 1975 Constitution & 1978 Constitution)
First Administration Second Administration Third Administration Hu–Wen Administration Xi–Li Administration
Multiple terms in office, consecutive or otherwise, are listed and counted in the first column counts individuals and the second column (term number).
№ | Chairman/Chairwoman | Term | Took office | Left office | |
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1 | Liu Shaoqi 刘少奇 |
1 | September 15, 1954 | April 28, 1959 | |
2 | Zhu De 朱德 |
2 | April 28, 1959 | January 4, 1965 | |
3 | January 4, 1965 | January 17, 1975 | |||
4 | January 17, 1975 | July 6, 1976 | |||
— | Song Qingling 宋庆龄 |
July 6, 1976 (acting) |
March 5, 1978 | ||
3 | Ye Jianying 叶剑英 |
5 | March 5, 1978 | June 18, 1983 | |
4 | Peng Zhen 彭真 |
6 | June 18, 1983 | April 13, 1988 | |
5 | Wan Li 万里 |
7 | April 13, 1988 | March 27, 1993 | |
6 | Qiao Shi 乔石 |
8 | March 27, 1993 | March 15, 1998 | |
7 | Li Peng 李鹏 |
9 | March 15, 1998 | March 15, 2003 | |
8 | Wu Bangguo 吴邦国 |
10 | March 15, 2003 | March 15, 2008 | |
11 | March 15, 2008 | March 14, 2013 | |||
9 | Zhang Dejiang 张德江 |
12 | March 14, 2013 | Incumbent |