First Secretary of the Communist Party of China
# First Secretary of the Communist Party of China

The First Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, also referred to the First Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's Secretariat, is a senior position within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the de facto head of the CCP Secretariat.

The First Secretary is nominated by the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, and is appointed by the CCP Central Committee. It is responsible for the management of directives and day-to-day work of the CCP Secretariat assisting the Party leader. A member of both the Politburo Standing Committee and the Secretariat, the officeholder is often considered the fifth most powerful figure in China's political system — immediately behind the General Secretary of the Central Committee, the Premier of the State Council, the Chair of the National People's Congress and the Chair of the National Consultative Conference.

The two most recent CCP General Secretaries, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, were first elevated to the position of first Secretary of the Secretariat in the same process used to determine the membership and roles of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee.

The current officeholder is Cai Qi, who was appointed by a decision of the 20th Politburo on 23 October 2022 to replace Wang Huning, who left office after his re-election as Politburo Standing Committee member.

## History

The office was established at the Party's 8th National Congress in 1956. The position was called “General Secretary” from 1956 to 1966.

During the tenure of the Culture Revolution and Hua Guofeng’s leadership (1969–1980), the CCP Secretariat was abolished. The Secretariat was re-established in 1980 and Hu Yaobang was appointed as it’s General Secretary. The CCP Chairman was replaced by the CCP General Secretary at the Party’s 12th National Congress in 1982, thus the most senior position of the Secretariat has been informally called “First Secretary” or “First ranked Secretary” since 1987.

## Officeholders

First Secretaries of the CCP Central Committee's Secretariat :

| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | Electoral term | BY | PM | Birthplace | Ethnicity | Gender |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| General Secretary of the Central Committee's Secretariat ||||||||||||
| 1 | | Deng Xiaoping | 28 September 1956 | 23 August 1966 | 9 years and 329 days | 8th CC (1956–1969) | 1904 | 1924 | Guang'an, Sichuan | Han Chinese | Male |
| Standing Secretary of the Central Committee's Secretariat ||||||||||||
| - | | Tao Zhu | 23 May 1966 | 4 January 1967 | 226 days | 8th CC (1956–1969) | 1908 | 1926 | Qiyang, Hunan | Han Chinese | Male |
| General Secretary of the Central Committee's Secretariat ||||||||||||
| 2 | | Hu Yaobang | 29 February 1980 | 12 September 1982 | 2 years and 196 days | 11th CC (1977–1982) | 1915 | 1933 | Liuyang, Hunan | Han Chinese | Male |
| First Secretary of the Central Committee's Secretariat ||||||||||||
| 3 | — | Hu Qili | 2 November 1987 | 24 June 1989 | 1 year and 234 days | 13th CC (1987–1992) | 1929 | 1948 | Yulin, Shaanxi | Han Chinese | Male |
| 4 | | Qiao Shi | 24 June 1989 | 19 October 1992 | 3 years and 117 days | 13th CC (1987–1992) | 1924 | 1940 | Shanghai | Han Chinese | Male |
| 5 | | Hu Jintao | 19 October 1992 | 15 November 2002 | 10 years and 27 days | 14th CC (1992–1997) 15th CC (1997–2002) | 1942 | 1964 | Taizhou, Jiangsu | Han Chinese | Male |
| 6 | — | Zeng Qinghong | 15 November 2002 | 22 October 2007 | 4 years and 341 days | 16th CC (2002–2007) | 1939 | 1960 | Ji'an, Jiangxi | Han Chinese | Male |
| 7 | | Xi Jinping | 22 October 2007 | 15 November 2012 | 5 years and 24 days | 17th CC (2007–2012) | 1953 | 1974 | Beijing | Han Chinese | Male |
| 8 | | Liu Yunshan | 15 November 2012 | 25 October 2017 | 4 years and 344 days | 18th CC (2012–2017) | 1947 | 1971 | Salaqi County, Suiyuan | Han Chinese | Male |
| 9 | | Wang Huning | 25 October 2017 | 23 October 2022 | 4 years and 363 days | 19th CC (2017–2022) | 1955 | 1984 | Shanghai | Han Chinese | Male |
| 10 | | Cai Qi | 23 October 2022 | Incumbent | 138 days | 20th CC (2022– ) | 1955 | 1975 | Youxi County, Fujian | Han Chinese | Male |
