Qiao Shi

Qiao Shi (December 1924 – 14 June 2015) was a Chinese politician and a top leader of the Communist Party of China. He was a member of the party's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, from 1987 to 1997. He was a contender for the paramount leadership of China, but lost out to his political rival Jiang Zemin, who assumed the presidency in 1993. Qiao Shi instead served as Chairman of the National People's Congress, the third-ranked political position, from 1993 until his retirement in 1998.