Yang Shangkun

1907-08-03 - 1998-09-14 Contemporaries

Yang Shangkun (1907–1998) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader who served as president of China from 1988 to 1993 and was one of the Eight Elders who dominated the party after Mao Zedong's death. From 1945 to 1965 he directed the party's General Office and from 1945 to 1956 served as Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission, overseeing much of the day-to-day running of government and party affairs.