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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

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

Messages from China's Politburo this week "suggest that the policy makers focus on the quality of growth rather than the speed", said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Politburo sessions rarely produce detailed policy guidance, but observers had hoped for substantive clues about Beijing’s economic plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

China’s Politburo signaled no major policy easing, with Nomura economists believing Beijing will focus on existing policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Focus is on China’s Politburo meeting this week, where Chinese leadership is set to discuss economic policies for the months to come.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 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

It added that the president would take over Mr Trong’s duties in running the party’s central committee, politburo and secretariat.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2024

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

The announcements came after top Chinese leaders vowed to "invigorate capital markets and boost investor confidence" during the July politburo meeting as Beijing struggles to revive flagging economic growth.

From Reuters ● Aug. 11, 2023

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