Hua Guofeng

(p. 1920)
Born in Shanxi province in a poor peasant family. At the end of 1935 joined the Red Army - it happened shortly after the thinning in the battle communist troops of Mao Zedong, who completed their 'Long March' from the southern province of Jiangxi, found a precarious refuge in the northern province of Shaanxi. Since the beginning of Japanese aggression Hua Guofeng took part in battles against the Japanese, and later fought against the troops of the KMT. At the final stage of the civil war he worked as secretary of the party committee to Young County in Shaanxi Province and was recognized as the organizer of the local guerrilla movement in 1947-1948.
In 1949, after the Communist victory and the founding of the PRC, Hua Guofeng was promoted to Secretary of the District Party Committee of Hunan Province - the homeland of Mao Zedong. Having shown himself a champion of the collectivization of agriculture in 1955-1956, Hua come in view of Mao Zedong. In 1959 he was promoted to the post of party chief of Hunan Province. During the 'cultural revolution' Hua became a supporter of Mao and won the last special trust for the brutal suppression of the extreme left elements in Hunan in 1967-1968. At the 9 th Congress of the CPC, was elected a member of the Party Central Committee, and in 1973 - a member of the Politburo. In 1971, transferred from Hunan to Beijing, Hua Guofeng worked in the government under the leadership of Zhou Enlai. In 1975 he was appointed vice-premier. After the death of Zhou Enlai in January 1976 Hua succeeded him as premier, and after the death of Mao Zedong in September the same year took the top post in the Chinese Communist Party.

Hua Guofeng's coming to power has led to a repression of the radical group of party leaders, who were called 'gang of four'. In foreign policy, Hua Guofeng continued its policy of confrontation with the Soviet Union.

With the growing influence of Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping in the Chinese Communist Party has strengthened the view that Hua lead the Party and the country heading the discredited Maoism. In September 1980 Hua lost their authority prime minister Zhao Ziyang, and in June 1981 and was deposed from his post as chairman of the CPC Central Committee, which took Hu Yaobang. Nevertheless, Hua Guofeng remained a member of the CPC Central Committee until October 1997.