Chen Yun

Chen Yun
陈云
Chen in 1959
2nd Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission
In office
2 November 1987 – 12 October 1992
General SecretaryZhao Ziyang
Jiang Zemin
Preceded byDeng Xiaoping
Succeeded byPost abolished
6th First Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
In office
22 December 1978 – 31 October 1987
General SecretaryHu Yaobang
Zhao Ziyang
Preceded byNew Office
(Dong Biwu in 1968)
Succeeded byQiao Shi (Secretary)
Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
In office
28 September 1956 – 1 August 1966
ChairmanMao Zedong
In office
18 December 1978 – 12 September 1982
ChairmanHua Guofeng
Hu Yaobang
1st First Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
In office
15 September 1954 – 21 December 1964
PremierZhou Enlai
Succeeded byLin Biao
Personal details
Born(1905-06-13)13 June 1905
Qingpu, Qing Empire
(today part of Shanghai, People's Republic of China)
Died10 April 1995(1995-04-10) (aged 89)
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1924–1995)
SpouseYu Ruomu

Chen Yun (simplified Chinese: 陈云; traditional Chinese: 陳雲; pinyin: Chén Yún, pronounced [ʈʂʰə̌n y̌n]; 13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was a Chinese revolutionary leader who was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 1990s and one of the major architects and important policy makers for the reform and opening up period, alongside Deng Xiaoping. He was also known as Liao Chenyun (廖陈云), as he took his uncle's (Liao Wenguang; 廖文光) family name when he was adopted by him after his parents died.

A major Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political figure before the establishment of the PRC, Chen first joined the CCP Central Committee in 1931, and the Politburo in 1934. He became the head of the CCP's Organization Department in 1937, and became one of CCP leader Mao Zedong's close advisors. He played an important role in the Yan'an Rectification Movement of 1942, and started becoming responsible for economic affairs that year, ultimately heading the Central Finance and Economic Commission from 1949.

After the establishment of the PRC, Chen was a key figure in moderating many of Mao's radical economic ideas. Chen was instrumental in China's economic reconstruction following the disastrous Great Leap Forward (1958–1960) along with Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai, advocating for a "bird cage" economy in which the market economy should be allowed to play a role but kept contained like a "bird in a cage". Chen was demoted during the Cultural Revolution though he returned to power after Mao's death in 1976.

After Deng Xiaoping's rehabilitation, Chen voiced his criticism of Maoist policies, decrying China's lack of economic policies, and later became one of the architects of Deng's reform and opening up policy. During the 1980s and the 1990s, Chen was regarded as the second-most powerful person in China after Deng and was later recognized as one of the Eight Elders of the Chinese Communist Party. Initially a strong advocate for economic reforms, Chen increasingly became conservative towards the reforms as they progressed, becoming a key figure in slowing many reforms and becoming the leader of CCP's conservative factions. Chen resigned from the Central Committee in 1987 though kept his influence as the chairman of the Central Advisory Committee until 1992, when he fully retired from politics.