Jiang Zemin, Chinese engineer and politician, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and 5th President of China
Jiang Zemin (; Chinese: 江泽民; pinyin: Jiāng Zémín; born 17 August 1926) is a retired Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party from 1989 to 2004, and as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003. Jiang represented the "core of the third generation" of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders since 1989.
Jiang came to power unexpectedly as a compromise candidate following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, when he replaced Zhao Ziyang as CCP General Secretary after Zhao was ousted for his support for the student movement. As the involvement of the "Eight Elders" in Chinese politics steadily declined, Jiang consolidated his hold on power to become the "paramount leader" in the country during the 1990s. Urged by Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour in 1992 to accelerate "opening up and reform", Jiang officially introduced the term "socialist market economy" in his speech during the 14th CCP National Congress held later that year, ending a period of ideological uncertainty and economic stagnation following 1989.
Under Jiang's leadership, China experienced substantial economic growth with the continuation of market reforms, saw the return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997 and Macau from Portugal in 1999 and improved its relations with the outside world, while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the state. However, Jiang has controversially faced criticism over human rights abuses which also led to the crackdown of the Falun Gong movement. His contributions to party doctrine, known as the "Three Represents," were written into the party's constitution in 2002. Jiang vacated the roles of General Secretary and highest-ranking member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee in 2002, but did not relinquish all of his official leadership titles until 2005, and continued to influence affairs until much later. At the age of 95 years, 224 days, Jiang is the longest-living paramount leader in the history of the PRC, surpassing Deng Xiaoping on 14 February 2019.