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• Politburo
  Politburo

  noun

  the executive committee and chief policymaking body of a Communist Party.
• politburo
  politburo

  A commonly used name for those who made the major governmental decisions in the former Soviet Union. A politburo, in general, is the chief committee of a communist party.

Politburo

American  

[pol-it-byoor-oh, poh-lit-, puh-lit-] / ˈpɒl ɪtˌbjʊər oʊ, ˈpoʊ lɪt-, pəˈlɪt- /

Or Politbureau

noun

1. (often lowercase) the executive committee and chief policymaking body of a Communist Party.

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Politburo British  

/ ˈpɒlɪtˌbjʊərəʊ /

noun

1. the executive and policy-making committee of a Communist Party

2. the supreme policy-making authority in most Communist countries

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politburo Cultural  

1. A commonly used name for those who made the major governmental decisions in the former Soviet Union. A politburo, in general, is the chief committee of a communist party.

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Etymology

Origin of Politburo

< Russian politbyuró, shortening of politícheskoe byuró political bureau

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Explanation

A committee of communist leaders is a politburo. The Soviet politburo was dissolved when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Politburo is a translation of the Russian Politbyuro, shorthand for politicheskoe byuro, or "political bureau." This executive committee is responsible for essentially all policy decisions and holds true power in most communist countries. The original politburo, formed during the 1917 Russian Revolution by the Bolsheviks, included Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin among its members. China’s current politburo is formally called the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Politburo politburo

Ma and Zhang Youxia were former Politburo members.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Their removal, along with former general He Weidong in 2025, meant the powerful 24-man Politburo was at one point left with 21 members.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

China’s delegation to meet Kim was led by Wang Huning, a member of the Communist Party’s elite Politburo Standing Committee and leading party ideologue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

A July meeting of the Politburo, China’s top policymaking body, vowed to “maintain confidence and meet difficulties head-on,” and promised to boost domestic demand with “more proactive” policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

KGB general Oleg Kalugin later wrote that the Soviet Politburo believed that Ames "has presented information of such value that he should be paid as much as possible."

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

The politburo makeup will be the best measure of Lam's dominance, said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026

He is known to have met the Chinese foreign minister at least twice during his time as national security adviser and also hosted a senior member of the Chinese politburo earlier this year.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025

Even on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum, there is not a politburo that decides what will get a big rally that week.

From Slate ● May 13, 2024

China’s relatively low-level delegation was headed by Li Hongzhong, a member of China’s ruling Communist Party politburo.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

China pledged to step up stimulus measures as the economy faces what it described as "new" difficulties and a "tortuous" recovery, following a meeting of the powerful politburo of the ruling Communist Party this week.

From Reuters ● Jul. 26, 2023

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