As Xi Jinping eyes for 3rd term, a look at list of longest serving presidents of China

Beijing, Sep 26: China's leaders are set to convene a major political meeting in Beijing on October 16, where President Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term. The national congress is held every five years and is primarily a political event to determine the next group of leaders for the ruling party.

A total of 2,296 delegates were "elected" to attend the upcoming 20th National Congress of the CPC to be held on October 16, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The Central Committee will then vote for the 25-person Politburo and its all-powerful Standing Committee -- China's highest leadership body and apex of power, currently comprising seven people. Voting is mostly a formality -- the pecking order of the Politburo and its Standing Committee is likely to have been decided well in advance. The overall duration of the congress is not yet clear.

Xi has been the paramount leader of China, the most prominent political leader in the country since 2012. He rose through China's political ranks to officially become president in 2013. He abolished term limits in 2018, and the latest political shuffle is widely expected to grant him an unprecedented third term. Earlier, Hu Jintao was also chosen as a representative to the 18th National Congress in 2012 when he handed over the baton to Xi.

The role of the president alone is largely ceremonial with limited power. However since 1993, the post has been held by General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, thus the top leader of China. The presidency was first established in the Constitution in 1954 and successively held by Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi. The presidency was abolished under the Constitution of 1975, then reinstated in the Constitution of 1982, but with reduced powers. The title of the office was unchanged in the Chinese text, but a new English translation of "President of the People's Republic of China" has been adopted since 1982, instead of "Chairman of the People's Republic of China".

As Xi prepares to get re-elected for a third five-year term later this year, let us look at chronological list of the leaders of the People's Republic of China since 1949.

Leaders of the People’s Republic of China since 1949

The table provides a chronological list of the leaders of the People’s Republic of China since 1949.