Mao Zedong was a Chinese Marxist theorist, soldier, and statesman who led China's communist revolution after decades of foreign occupation and civil war in the 20th century. Following the Communist Party of China’s military victory over the nationalist Kuomintang in the Chinese Civil War, Mao announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949 in the culturally-significant Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Mao pursued the ideal of strong and prosperous China, endeavoring to build a modern, industrialized nation and relieve the poverty of peasants that constituted the majority of China's population. Until his death, Mao maintained control of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China through both political acumen and a cult of personality.