Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea

Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
Flag of the Workers' Party of Korea
Incumbent Kim Jong-un since 9 May 2016
Appointer	Central Committee and the Central Military Commission or party conference
Term length	None
Formation	9 May 2016

Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
Chosŏn'gŭl	조선로동당 위원장
Revised Romanization	Joseon Rodongdang Wiwonjang
McCune–Reischauer	Chosŏn Rodongdang Wiwonjang

Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea is the title given to the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea.

History

From 1946 to 1966, the party′s leader was called Chairman of the Central Committee. Since 1966, the year the 2nd Party Conference reformed the structure of the Party, the Central Committee, usually at its first plenum after a party congress, elected a leader called the General Secretary of the Central Committee; the post was held by Kim Il-sung from 1966 to 1994, the year of his demise. Although the Party Rules stipulated that the party leader was to be elected by the Central Committee, Kim Jong-il was proclaimed General Secretary of the Party (not "of the Central Committee") by a joint notice of the Central Committee and Central Military Commission on 8 October 1997 following resolutions proposing Kim Jong-il's election adopted by the provincial Party organizations; he was then re-elected directly by the 3rd Party Conference in September 2010.

The 2012 Party Conference "decided to hold Kim Jong Il … in high esteem as eternal general secretary of the WPK …" and therefore elected the new leader Kim Jong-un First Secretary of the WPK (again not "of the Central Committee").

At the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, the post Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea was created as the highest post of the Workers' Party of Korea, which replaced the title of First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea. Kim Jong Un, who was First Secretary, was elected to fill the new position.

Officeholders

Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Took office	Left office
Chairman of the Central Committee (1946–1966)
Kim Tu-bong (1886–1957?)		28 August 1946	30 June 1949
Kim Il-sung (1912–1994)		30 June 1949	11 October 1966
General Secretary of the Central Committee (1966–1994)
Kim Il-sung (1912–1994)		11 October 1966	8 July 1994
General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (1997–2011)
Kim Jong-il (1942–2011)		8 October 1997	17 December 2011
Eternal General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (2012–present)
Kim Jong-il (1942–2011)		11 April 2012	Incumbent
First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (2012–2016)
Kim Jong-un (b. 1983)		11 April 2012	9 May 2016
Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (2016–present)
Kim Jong-un (b. 1983)		9 May 2016	Incumbent