Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (officially transcribed Kim Jong Il; ; ; 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was the second Supreme Leader of North Korea. He ruled from the death of his father Kim Il-sung, the first Supreme Leader of North Korea, in 1994 until his own death in 2011. He was an unelected dictator and was often accused of human rights violations.
Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
The post was replaced at the October 1966 2nd Conference by the General Secretary of the Central Committee; through this office, Kim Il-sung became the formal head of the party's Secretariat. After Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, the post was vacant for three years. On 8 October 1997, Kim Jong-il was appointed to the new office of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea in a joint announcement by the Central Committee (CC) and the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Workers' Party of Korea: "[The CC and the CMC] pronounce comrade Kim Jong-il as general secretary of the party, based upon the wishes of the entire People's Army, people, and the members of the party." At the 3rd Conference, the party charter was amended to require the general secretary to concurrently chair the Central Military Commission. When Kim Jong-il died the WPK left the post of General Secretary vacant at the 4th Conference, making him "Eternal General Secretary". Kim Jong-un was elected to the office of First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, which was established to "represent and lead the whole party as its head and materialize the ideas and lines of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il." At the 7th WPK Congress the office of First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea was abolished, and replaced by the office of Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea.