The Cultural Revolution ended with chairman Mao Zedong's death in 1976. The movement, spearheaded by Mao, caused severe damage to the country's economic and social fabric. The country was mired in poverty as economic production slowed or stopped. Political ideology was paramount in the lives of ordinary people as well as the inner workings of the Communist Party itself. At the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee in December 1978, Deng Xiaoping emerged as China's leader. Deng launched a comprehensive program to reform the Chinese economy. Within the span of several years, the direction of the country had shifted in its entirety. The focus on ideological purity was gone, replaced by a full-on drive to achieve material prosperity.
To run his reform agenda, Deng promoted his allies to top government and party posts. Hu Yaobang was appointed the General Secretary of the CPC in February 1980, and Zhao Ziyang was named as Premier in September.