Hua Guofeng (16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008) was Chairman of the Communist Party of China from 7 October 1976 to 28 June 1981 (succeeding Mao Zedong and preceding Hu Yaobang) and Premier of China from 4 February 1976 to 10 September 1980 (succeeding Zhou Enlai and preceding Zhao Ziyang).
Biography[]
Hua Guofeng was born in Jiaocheng County, Shanxi, China in 1921, and he rose to power as a Communist Party of China official in Hunan between 1949 and 1971. He served as Party Committee Secretary of the Xiangtan before serving as party secretary in the province during the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution. He was elevated to the national stage in 1976, when he was made Premier (succeeding Zhou Enlai), as he was known for his unswerving loyalty to Mao Zedong. On 6 October 1976, shortly after the death of Mao, he removed the Gang of Four from power by having them arrested, and he became party chairman and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. He attempted moderate reforms, reversing some of the excesses of the Cultural Revolution-era policies, but his insistence on continuing the Maoist line led to his ouster in December 1978. Deng Xiaoping, the leader of the coup, would usher in an era of political and economic liberalization, and Hua has become known as a transitional figure in Chinese history.