Jiang Zemin (simplified Chinese: 江泽民; traditional Chinese: 江澤民; pinyin: Jiāng Zémín; Wade-Giles: Chiang Tse-min; born 17 August 1926) was the "core of the third generation" of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004.

Jiang came to power in the wake of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, replacing Zhao Ziyang, who was purged for being too conciliatory towards the protestors, as General Secretary. With the waning influence of Deng Xiaoping due to old age, Jiang effectively became "paramount leader" in the 1990s. Under his leadership, China experienced substantial developmental growth with reforms, saw the peaceful return of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom and Macau from Portugal, and improved its relations with the outside world while the Communist Party maintained its tight control over the government. Known to be one of China's more charismatic political figures, Jiang has been criticized for being too concerned about his personal image at home, and too conciliatory towards Russia and the United States abroad. Critics also point to Jiang's inability to maintain control on various social imbalances and problems that surfaced during his term. Traditionalist communists in China charge Jiang of being a revisionist leader who legitimized outright capitalism. His contribution to the Marxist doctrine, a list of guiding ideologies by which the CCP rules China, is called the theory of the Three Represents, which has been written into the party and state constitutions.

Jiang was born in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu. His ancestral home, a notion important in traditional Chinese society, was the Jiangwan Village (江湾村), wuyuan County (婺源县) of the old Huizhou (徽州) in southern Anhui Province, which was also the hometown of a number of prominent figures in Chinese academic and intellectual establishments. Jiang grew up during the years of Japanese occupation. His uncle, Jiang Shangqing, died fighting the Japanese, and was considered a martyr. Jiang attended the National Central University (Department of Radio Engineering at Southeast University) in the Japanese-occupied Nanjing before being transferred to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He graduated there in 1947 with a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He claimed that he joined the Communist Party of China when he was in college (this has never been verified by any individuals or documents). After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Jiang received his training at the Stalin Automobile Works in Moscow in the 1950s. He worked for Changchun's First Automobile Works. He eventually got transferred to government services, where he began rising in rank, becoming a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Minister of Electronic Industries in 1983. In 1985 he became Mayor of Shanghai, and subsequently the Party Chief of Shanghai.