Jiang Zemin Obituary

Jiang Zemin was a Chinese politician who served as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) general secretary from 1989 to 2002.

Jiang Zemin was born on August 17, 1926 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China. Jiang Zemin served as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as China’s president from 1993 to 2003.

Jiang unexpectedly came to power as a compromise candidate after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, when he replaced Zhao Ziyang as CCP general secretary after Zhao was ousted for his support for the student movement.

Under Jiang’s leadership, China experienced significant economic growth, saw the return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997 and Macau from Portugal in 1999, and improved its relations with the rest of the world, all while the Communist Party maintained tight control over the state.

Jiang became the PRC’s longest-living paramount leader on 14 February 2019, at the age of 96 years and 105 days, surpassing Deng Xiaoping.

Jiang Zemin died of leukemia and multiple organ failure on November 30, 2022.