In 1929 the CPGB elected him General Secretary with Joseph Stalin's personal approval. On his appointment Stalin told him "You have taken a difficult job on, but I believe you will tackle it all right". He held the position, with a brief interruption during World War II, until 1956, when he was then made Chairman of the Party, a position he held until his death four years later aboard an ocean liner carrying him home from a visit to Australia and New Zealand. Writing in 1929, Pollitt stated that he saw his role as defending the CPSU "through thick and thin".