Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-Tung (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976) 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. However, the disastrous results of Mao's most significant socio-political programs - including the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution - crippled China's development, leading to economic hardship, social turmoil and widespread starvation. 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, the latter resulting in such sobriquets as Grand Helmsman and Saviour of China.