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Paramount leader　(Simplified Chinese: 国家最高首领; pinyin: guojia zuigao shouling, literally "the highest leader of the country"), in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China who controls the three branches of the Chinese political system (Communist Party of China, People's Republic of China and People's Liberation Army).

The paramount leader may hold or have held one or more of the following offices:

• Chairman/General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
• President of the People's Republic of China
• Chairman of the Central Military Commission

The paramount leader may be able to wield power without necessarily holding any official or formally significant governmental position. The most notable example is former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who held supreme power in the People's Republic of China roughly from 1978 to 1994 without officially holding the top political offices.

To date, "paramount leader" has been applied to five individual Chinese statesmen (dates approximate and open to dispute):

• Mao Zedong (1949-1976)
• Hua Guofeng (1976-1978)
• Deng Xiaoping (1978-1992)
• Jiang Zemin (1992-2004)
• Hu Jintao (2004-Present)

The term was commonly applied to Mao Zedong, who at times ruled with practically absolute power, and Deng Xiaoping, who was the most influential person in the PRC despite not holding the most powerful official positions. Following the death of Deng Xiaoping, the term has seldom been used since power is held more-or-less collectively by the members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee with different factions jockeying for influence. Policy decisions are thought to be made via majority vote of Standing Committee members following internal discussions.^[1]. For example, though Jiang Zemin left the Standing Committee in 2002 and resigned all his posts in 2004, members of the Shanghai clique (of which Jiang is a member), still retains a majority in the Standing Committee.

Leadership transition takes several months. For instance, in the case of Hu Jintao:

• General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (November 2002)
• President of the People's Republic of China (March 2003)
• Chairman of the Central Military Commission (September 2004)

Usually the office as Chairman of the Central Military Commission is the last office handed over by the previous paramount leader, in order to secure political influence and ensure political continuity.

• paramount chief (merely tribal or other traditional context, no empire)
• paramount ruler (similar prominence, but monarchic)
• strongman

1. ^ BBC: How China is ruled