Deng Xiaoping

Dèng Xiǎopíng (Chinese: 邓小平; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-p'ing;) was born August 22, 1904 and died February 19, 1997. He came from Paifang village in Xiexing township, Guang'an County, Sichuan Province, in China. He bacame a significant figure within the Communist Party of China (CPC). With the death of Premier Zhou Enlai, and just months later Chairman Mao in 1976, Deng Xiaoping won the power struggle between himself and the Gang of Four. He became Chairman of Communist Party of China. Though he never held the office of President or Premier of China, as Chairman of the party, he had authority above those posts. He was a reformer, ending the cultural revolution and beginning the opening up of China. His phillosophy of Socialism with Chinese characteristics was adopted by the CPC. In this, Deng argued that a market lead economy was not disagreeable with socialism. He retired for political life in 1992 though he still have influence behind the scenes. In 1997 he died aged 92, from a lung infection and Parkinson's disease.