Zhao Ziyang, << jow zu yahng >> (1919-2005), also spelled Chao Tzu-yang, served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from November 1987 until June 1989. He had been acting general secretary since January 1987. As general secretary, Zhao held the highest post in the Communist Party, which controls China’s government. But at the time, Deng Xiaoping was the country’s most influential leader. Zhao was dismissed from his post in June 1989 after he showed support for protests in favor of increased democracy in China (see China (Deng Xiaoping)).
Zhao was born on Oct. 17, 1919, in Henan Province. He joined the Communist Party in 1938. He rose through the ranks and, in 1965, was given the party post of first secretary of Guangdong Province. He was removed from office in 1967 during China’s Cultural Revolution. Zhao regained his post in 1971. In 1975, he became the Communist Party’s first secretary of Sichuan Province and helped improve the economy there. Zhao’s work in Sichuan helped him advance rapidly in the Communist Party and the government. From 1980 to 1989, Zhao was a member of China’s most powerful policymaking body—the standing committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo. In 1980, he became premier of China. The premier heads the operations of the Chinese government. Zhao held that post until he became general secretary in 1987. Zhao died on Jan. 17, 2005.
See also Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
