the executive and policy-making committee of a Communist Party
the supreme policy-making authority in most Communist countries
< Russian politbyuró, shortening of politícheskoe byuró political bureau
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We see limited scope for immediate and material stimulus,” though the upcoming Politburo meeting next month may focus on consumption and household income, Citi said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Eyes are also on a Politburo scheduled to be held around the final week of April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
"To Lam is the first among equals, but he's also answerable to the Politburo," he said, pointing to other senior figures in the 19-member committee.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
In Friday’s statement, party authorities described Ma as a Politburo member and deputy head of a party body overseeing rural policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 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 remarks from the politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, come a day after party inspection teams concluded investigations into dozens of state-owned enterprises.
From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
