Offices he held included Vice-Premier (1973–76; 1977–80) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (1981–89), but his power far exceeded their scope and he was regarded as China’s paramount leader from about 1978. Discredited during the Cultural Revolution, he was reinstated in 1977, becoming the most prominent exponent of economic modernization, improving relations with the West, and taking a firm stance in relation to the Soviet Union. In 1989 his orders led to the massacre of some 2000 pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Despite the announcement of his retirement in 1989, he continued to be regarded as the effective leader of China until the end of his life.