commissar

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Russian комисса́р (komissár), from German Kommissar (“commissioner”), from Latin commissarius, from commissus, past participle of committō (“to commit, entrust to”). Doublet of commissary.

1. An official of the Communist Party, often attached to a military unit, who was responsible for political education.

   “On Monday, state media named Wang Houbin as commander of the Rocket Force and Xu Xisheng as the political commissar of the force in a report highlighting their promotion to the rank of general by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.”

2. The head of a commissariat.
3. A political functionary whose job is to push the party or government line.

   “There is a dangerous censoriousness pulsing through American society. In small towns and big cities alike, would-be commissars are fighting, in the name of a distinct minority of Americans, to stifle open discussion and impose their views on the community at large. Dissenters, when they speak out, are hounded, ostracized and sometimes even forced from their jobs.”