Why was Lin Biao named Mao Zedong’s successor at the Ninth Party Congress in 1969?

At the Ninth Party Congress in April 1969, Defense Minister Lin Biao was officially designated as Mao Zedong’s successor, a status that was formally written into the new party constitution.12

This appointment occurred during a period when the military had significantly tightened its grip on Chinese society following the Cultural Revolution. By 1969, the Communist Party and the Party Central Committee were heavily dominated by military figures, with more than two-fifths of the Ninth Central Committee members holding military posts.12

Lin had previously replaced Liu Shaoqi as Mao’s successor in August 1966, having established himself as the high priest of the Mao cult. His influence was further bolstered by his role in reforming the People’s Liberation Army, which had become a model for the rest of society to emulate. The formalization of his succession in 1969 took place against a backdrop of heightened national tension, specifically following bloody Sino-Soviet border clashes that occurred earlier that spring.132