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
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (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)
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 revolutionary and statesman. He served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1978 to 1989. After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, Deng rose to power and led China through a period of Reform and Opening Up that transformed China's economy into a socialist market economy. Deng 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 near the end of the Qing dynasty, Deng studied in France in the 1920s, where he became interested in Marxism-Leninism. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1924 and studied in Moscow before returning to China, where he became a political commissar in the Red Army. Deng played a key role during the Chinese Civil War and was a prominent figure in the Long March. He later helped lead the People's Liberation Army to victory in the civil war and the capture of Nanjing.

After the founding of the PRC in October 1949, Deng held several key regional roles, eventually rising to a central position in the State Council during the 1950s. As Vice Premier of China and Secretary-General of the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong, Deng presided over economic reconstruction efforts. Deng played a significant role in the Anti-Rightist Campaign, which persecuted intellectuals and critics of the CCP. The campaign led to the persecution of an estimated 550,000 people, including writers and political activists, and is viewed as a key event in solidifying his support for Mao's hardline policies at the time.^[8] He fell out of favor during the Cultural Revolution due to his pragmatic, market-oriented policies. He was twice purged by Mao, but after Mao's death, Deng emerged as the paramount leader by outmaneuvering his rivals.

Deng and his allies launched the Boluan Fanzheng program which sought to restore order after the Cultural Revolution, rehabilitating tens of millions of people who were persecuted during Mao's era. Deng was also credited for initiating the "Reform and Opening Up" of mainland China, which introduced market elements and foreign investment into China's economy, the institution of nine years of compulsory education for all Chinese citizens and the establishment of the 863 Program to stimulate science and technology, all of which transformed China into one of the world's fastest-growing economies. A parallel set of political reforms were also introduced, including a revised China's Constitution that imposed presidential term limit. On the other hand, Deng played a central role in shaping China's foreign relations, normalizing ties with the United States in 1979 and Soviet Union in 1989, while proposing the One Country, Two Systems model for the return of Hong Kong and Macau.^[9]

During the course of his leadership, Deng was named the Time Person of the Year for 1978 and 1985.^[10][11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13]

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