This position was established in 1956. In 1982, this position was abolished alongside the position of Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. Instead, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party became the highest Party rank. This was done to immortalize Mao as the sole Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and to dissociate the current leadership with the one under Mao
*During the Cultural Revolution, Mao appointed him as the sole Vice Chairman. Upon his death in 1971, the position was left vacant until 1973