Mao Zedong 毛泽东
(1893 – 1976)

Mao was the preeminent leader of the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Revolution and later the People’s Republic of China. Mao launched the Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) and the Cultural Revolution, which ended with his death in 1976. Both initiatives were created to fulfill Mao’s vision of constant revolution and were responsible for an estimated 45 million deaths, partially due to starvation.