Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping
邓小平
Deng during a visit to the United States in 1979
Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission
In office 13 September 1982 – 2 November 1987
President	Li Xiannian
Premier	Zhao Ziyang
Deputy	Bo Yibo Xu Shiyou Tan Zhenlin Li Weihan Wang Zhen Song Renqiong
General Secretary	Hu Yaobang Zhao Ziyang (acting)
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Chen Yun
Chairman of the Central Military Commission
In office Party Commission: 28 June 1981 – 9 November 1989
Deputy	Ye Jianying Zhao Ziyang Yang Shangkun Liu Bocheng Nie Rongzhen Xu Xiangqian
General Secretary	Hu Yaobang Zhao Ziyang Jiang Zemin
Preceded by	Hua Guofeng
Succeeded by	Jiang Zemin
In office State Commission: 6 June 1983 – 19 March 1990
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Jiang Zemin
3rd Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office 8 March 1978 – 17 June 1983
Preceded by	Zhou Enlai (until 1976)
Succeeded by	Deng Yingchao
Personal details
Born	Deng Xiansheng (1904-08-22)22 August 1904 Guang'an, Sichuan, Qing dynasty
Died	19 February 1997(1997-02-19) (aged 92) Beijing, China
Resting place	Ashes scattered at sea
Political party	Communist Party of China (from 1924)
Spouses	Zhang Xiyuan (张锡瑗) ​ ​ (m. 1928; died 1929)​ Jin Weiying [zh] (金维映) ​ ​ (m. 1931⁠–⁠1939)​ Zhuo Lin ​ (m. 1939)​
Children	6, including: Deng Pufang Deng Nan Deng Rong
Relatives	Deng Zhuodi (grandson)
Education	Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Signature
Website	cpc.people.com.cn
Military service
Branch/service	Chinese Red Army Eighth Route Army People's Liberation Army
Years of service	1929–1952, 1975–1980
Rank	Political Commissar (1929–1952) Chief of the General Staff (1975–1976, 1977–1980) Chairman, Central Military Commission of China
Unit	Chinese Red Army Eighth Route Army Second Field Army People's Liberation Army General Staff Department
Battles/wars	Chinese Civil War Second Sino-Japanese War
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	邓小平
Traditional Chinese	鄧小平
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dèng Xiǎopíng
Paramount leader of China ← Hua Guofeng Jiang Zemin →

Deng Xiaoping (Chinese: 邓小平;^[a] 22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 to 1989. In the aftermath of Mao Zedong's death in 1976, Deng succeeded in consolidating power to lead China through a period of Reform and Opening Up that transformed its economy into a socialist market economy. He is widely regarded as the "Architect of Modern China" for his contributions to socialism with Chinese characteristics and Deng Xiaoping Theory.^{[5][6][7][page needed]}

Born in Sichuan, Deng first became interested in Marxism–Leninism while studying abroad in France in the 1920s. In 1924, he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and continued his studies in Moscow. Following the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and CCP, Deng worked in the Jiangxi Soviet, where he developed good relations with Mao. He served as a political commissar in the Chinese Red Army during the Long March and Second Sino-Japanese War, and later helped to lead the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to victory in the civil war, participating in the PLA's capture of Nanjing. After the proclamation of the PRC in 1949, Deng held several key regional roles, eventually rising to vice premier and CCP secretary-general in the 1950s. He presided over economic reconstruction efforts and played a significant role in the Anti-Rightist Campaign. During the Cultural Revolution from 1966, Deng was condemned as the party's "number two capitalist roader" after Liu Shaoqi, and was purged twice by Mao. After Mao's death in 1976, Deng outmaneuvered his rivals to become the country's leader in 1978.

Upon coming to power, Deng began a massive overhaul of China's infrastructure and political system. Due to the institutional disorder and political turmoil from the Mao era, he and his allies launched the Boluan Fanzheng program which sought to restore order by rehabilitating those who were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. He also initiated a reform and opening up program that introduced elements of market capitalism to the Chinese economy by designating special economic zones within the country. In 1980, Deng embarked on a series of political reforms including the setting of constitutional term limits for state officials and other systematic revisions which were incorporated in the country's fourth constitution. He later championed a one-child policy to deal with China's perceived overpopulation crisis, helped establish China's nine-year compulsory education, and oversaw the launch of the 863 Program to promote science and technology. The reforms carried out by Deng and his allies gradually led China away from a command economy and Maoist dogma, opened it up to foreign investments and technology, and introduced its vast labor force to the global market—thereby transforming China into one of the world's fastest-growing economies.^[8] Deng helped negotiate the eventual return of Hong Kong and Macau to China (which took place after his death) and developed the principle of "one country, two systems" for their governance.

During the course of his leadership, Deng was named the Time Person of the Year for 1978 and 1985.^[9][10] Despite his contributions to China's modernization, Deng's legacy is also marked by controversy. He ordered the military crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, which ended his political reforms and remains a subject of global criticism.^[11] The one-child policy introduced in Deng's era also drew criticism. Nonetheless, his policies laid the foundation for China's emergence as a major global power.^[12] Deng was succeeded as paramount leader by Jiang Zemin, who continued his policies.

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