Jiang Zemin

Jiang Zemin
江泽民
The portrait of Jiang Zemin.
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
In office 24 June 1989 – 15 November 2002
Preceded by	Zhao Ziyang
Succeeded by	Hu Jintao
5th President of the People's Republic of China
In office 27 March 1993 – 15 March 2003
Premier	Li Peng Zhu Rongji
Vice President	Rong Yiren Hu Jintao
Preceded by	Yang Shangkun
Succeeded by	Hu Jintao
Chairman of the Central Military Commission
In office State Commission: 19 March 1990 – 8 March 2005 Party Commission: 9 November 1989 – 19 September 2004
Deputy	List Cao Gangchuan (2002–05) Guo Boxiong (2002–05) Hu Jintao (1997–2004) Chi Haotian (1995–2002) Zhang Wannian (1995–2002) Liu Huaqing (1992–97) Zhang Zhen (1992–97) Yang Shangkun (1983–93)
Preceded by	Deng Xiaoping
Succeeded by	Hu Jintao
Personal details
Born	(1926-08-17) 17 August 1926 (age 90) Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
Nationality	Chinese
Political party	Communist Party of China
Spouse(s)	Wang Yeping
Children	Jiang Mianheng Jiang Miankang
Alma mater	National Central University (1943 - 1945 at Nanjing), National Chiao Tung University (1945 - 1947 at Shanghai)
Profession	Electrical engineer
Central institution membership 1989–2002: 13th, 14th, 15th Politburo Standing Committee 1989–2005: 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th Central Military Commission 1987–2002: 13th, 14th, 15th Politburo 1983–2002: 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th Central Committee 1988–2008: 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th National People's Congress Other offices held 1987–89: Party Committee Secretary, Shanghai 1984–87: Mayor, Shanghai 1983–85: Minister, Electronic Industries

Jiang Zemin
"Jiang Zemin" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese	江泽民
Traditional Chinese	江澤民
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiāng Zémín Wade–Giles Chiang1 Tze2-min2 IPA [tɕjáŋ tsɤ̌.mǐn] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Gong1 Zaak6-maan4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kang Tik-bîn

Jiang Zemin (born 17 August 1926) is a retired Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003. Jiang has been described as the "core of the third generation" of Communist Party leaders since 1989.

Jiang Zemin came to power unexpectedly as a 'compromise candidate' following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when he replaced Zhao Ziyang as General Secretary after Zhao was ousted for his support for the student movement. With the waning influence of Eight Elders due to old age and with the death of Deng Xiaoping, Jiang consolidated his hold on power and became the "paramount leader" of the country in the 1990s.

Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced substantial economic growth with the continuation of reforms, saw the peaceful return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom and Macau from Portugal, and improved its relations with the outside world while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the government. Jiang has been criticized for being too concerned about his personal image at home, and too conciliatory towards Russia and the United States abroad. His contributions to party doctrine, known as the "Three Represents," were written into the party's constitution in 2002. Jiang vacated the post of party General Secretary in 2002, but did not relinquish all of his leadership titles until 2005, and continued to influence affairs until much later.