Supreme Leader (North Korean title)
| Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the Workers' Party of Korea | |
since 17 December 2011 | |
| Style |
|
| Type | |
| Residence | Ryongsong Residence |
| Seat | Pyongyang |
| Appointer | Hereditary (de facto) |
| Term length | Five years (party offices term length, nominally) Life tenure (de facto) |
| Formation | 9 September 1948 |
| First holder | Kim Il Sung |
| Supreme Leader | |
|---|---|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최고령도자 |
| Hanja | 最高領導者 |
| North Korea portal |
The supreme leader (Korean: 최고령도자; MR: Ch'oego Ryŏngdoja) is the de facto hereditary leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Korean People's Army. The title is honorary, given only after death in the first two cases. More broadly it can also refer to the "Supreme Leader system" (Suryeong-je), which is defined as "a system that aims to ensure continuous leadership by the Supreme Leader across generations." Different titles were used in North Korean propaganda that could be translated from Korean as "Great Leader", "Dear Leader", or "Supreme Leader". Similar to other one-party states, the post of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (titled as Chairman from 1948 to 1966, as First Secretary from 2012 to 2016, and Chairman again from 2016 to 2021) is the first priority political position of the supreme leader.