noun

• (military) The framework or skeleton upon which a new regiment is to be formed; the officers of a regiment forming the staff.
  "From the original plan, thirty-four cadre battalions, with a total of 116 companies, had actually been formed, a total of about 700 officers and another 600 key enlisted men."
• (chiefly in communism) The core of a managing group, or a member of such a group.
  "In an article concerning Yunnan, it pointed out that the efforts of the Nuchiang Lisu Autonomous Chou’s party committee had resulted in a doubling of minorities cadres since 1965, and that many of these persons had assumed the first and second positions in leadership squads at different levels."