With the society in chaos after the decade-long Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution, the Great Helmsman, as Mao was known, passes away on September 6, 1976, at the age of 83. A quick arrest of the "Gang of Four," the main political force behind the Cultural Revolution, ends the chaos but not the power vacuum left by the passing of Mao and Zhou Enlai, despite Mao's last-minute designation of Hua Guofeng as his successor. In the next two years, Deng Xiaoping gradually consolidates his political power, eclipsing Hua Guofeng. Deng's status as the unofficial paramount leader is confirmed by the historic 3rd Plenum of the 11th Central Committee held in December 1978. The committee's agenda of reform and opening up shifts the focus of the CCP from one of ideology to one of pragmatism.