Mao Zedong (26 December 1893 - 9 September 1976) was a Chinese communist leader. Mao led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, and was the leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. Commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, he has been regarded as one of the most important figures in modern world history, and named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Mao Zedong remains a controversial figure to this day, with a contentious and ever-evolving legacy. Critics blame many of Mao's socio-political programs, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, for causing severe damage to the culture, society, economy, and foreign relations of China.

Sources for this text: About.com http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa022899.htm
Mao Zedong. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved, September 28, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong