List of leaders of the Soviet Union
Following Joseph Stalin's consolidation of power in the 1920s, the post of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party became synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union, because the post controlled both the Communist Party and the Soviet Government, both indirectly, via Party membership, and via the tradition of a single person holding two highest posts: in the Party and in the government. The post of the General Secretary was abolished in 1952 under Stalin and later re-established by Nikita Khrushchev under the name of First Secretary. In 1966, Leonid Brezhnev reverted the office title to its former name. Being the head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the office of the General Secretary was the highest in the Soviet Union until 1990. The post of General Secretary lacked clear guidelines of succession, so after the death or removal of a Soviet leader the successor usually needed the support of the Politburo, the Central Committee, or another government or party apparatus to both take and stay in power. The President of the Soviet Union, an office created in March 1990, replaced the General Secretary as the highest Soviet political office.
Secretariat of the Communist Party of China
During the Cultural Revolution, the post of general secretary as well as the secretariat itself completely ceased to function. Beginning at the 9th Party Congress, party documents made no mention of the secretariat. The body was restored after the Cultural Revolution in February 1980, with Hu Yaobang occupying the position of first-ranked secretary, which is analogous to the position formerly called the "General Secretary". Since its reinstatement, the composition of the secretariat has varied between 6 and 12 members. Wan Li, Hu Qili, Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong, Xi Jinping, and Liu Yunshan have all successively held the position of the first-ranked Secretary of the secretariat.