Central Committee

In political parties, the Central Committee (also called Steering Committee or National Committee) is a group of party members that make all decisions for the party.

The Committee is usually led by a Chairman. The Committee usually elects its Chairman to represent it, and also elects other important members of the party.

In one-party dictatorships, the Central Committee is all-powerful and leads the country. In the Soviet Union, for example, Joseph Stalin, used his power as General Secretary to have complete control over the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee and was able to become more powerful than the Committee itself.

Central Committee Media

• 

  Soviet Central Committee members (from left to right) Vyacheslav Molotov, Joseph Stalin, Kliment Voroshilov and Nikolai Yezhov partaking the 1937 election of deputies to the Supreme Soviet, the highest organ of state power in the Soviet Union.

• 

  The opening day (5 March 2015) of the 3rd Session of the 12th National People's Congress, the highest organ of state power in China.

• 

  Slobodan Milošević (left) and Ivan Stambolić (right) of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia attending the session of the 10th Congress of the League of Communists of Serbia that elected a new Central Committee.