The 4th Party Congress: National Independence and Unification

4th Party Congress

Time:from December 14 to 20, 1976

Location:Hanoi

Number of delegates attending the Congress:1,008

Number of party members in the country:more than 1.55 million

There are 29 international delegations attending the Congress.

The congress elected:

- General Secretary:ComradeLe Duan

- Central Executive Committee:101 official members and 32 alternate members

- Politburo:14 official members and 3 alternate members

GENERAL CONTEXT

From the late 1970s onwards, the socio-economic situation in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries faced many difficulties, maintaining support and material aid for foreign countries became increasingly limited. Soviet leaders sought to negotiate with the United States to gradually reduce the arms race.

In the mid-1970s, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, established in August 1967) had many activities to promote cooperation among members, creating influence and prestige in the region.

The Khmer Rouge forces came to power in Cambodia after winning the resistance war against the US (April 1974), betrayed the revolution, were supported by a number of external forces, carried out massacres of the people in the country, and implemented a hostile foreign policy against the Vietnamese revolution.

The great victory of Spring 1975, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, completely liberated the South, opening a new period of the Vietnamese revolution: the period of national independence, unification and advancement to socialism.

The General Election (April 1976) elected the National Assembly of a unified Vietnam. The National Assembly made historic decisions on the national name, national flag, national anthem, and established the state apparatus.

COMPLETE THE CAUSE OF NATIONAL UNITY, BRING THE WHOLE COUNTRY TO SOCIALISM

The Congress listened to the Political Report of the Party Central Committee; Report on the directions, tasks and main goals of the 5-year plan (1976-1980); Report summarizing the Party building work and amending the Party Charter.

The congress decided

- Socialist revolutionary path in Vietnam in the new period.

The documents of the 4th Party Congress assessed that the victory of the resistance war against the US to save the country will forever go down in national history as the most brilliant milestone and go down in world history as a great feat of the 20th century.

The Congress determined the general line of the socialist revolution in the new period in our country as: firmly grasping the proletarian dictatorship, promoting the collective mastery of the working people; simultaneously carrying out three revolutions: revolution in production relations, scientific-technological revolution, ideological and cultural revolution, in which the scientific-technological revolution is the key; promoting socialist industrialization is the central task of the entire transition period to socialism; building a socialist collective mastery regime, building large-scale socialist production, building a new culture, building new socialist people; abolishing the regime of man exploiting man, eliminating poverty and backwardness; constantly raising vigilance, regularly strengthening national defense, maintaining political security and social order; successfully building a peaceful, independent, unified and socialist Vietnam; actively contribute to the struggle of the world's people for peace, national independence, democracy and socialism.

- Directions, tasks and main goals of the 5-year plan (1976-1980):

Developing and reforming the economy; developing science and technology; promoting the ideological and cultural revolution, building and developing a new culture; strengthening the socialist state, promoting the role of mass organizations, doing well the mass work; the Party's international tasks and foreign policy; enhancing the Party's leadership role and fighting strength

The Congress approved:

+ Resolution to change the name of the Vietnam Workers' Party to the Communist Party of Vietnam.

+ Supplement the Party Charter, re-establish the position of General Secretary in place of First Secretary, and stipulate that the term of the Central Executive Committee is 5 years.

The Congress elected a new Central Executive Committee, consisting of 101 official members and 32 alternate members. Comrade Le Duan was elected General Secretary of the Party.

DOMESTIC EVENTS

- March 24, 1975: The Central Highlands Campaign won complete victory.

- March 25, 1975: The Politburo added the determination to liberate the South before the 1975 rainy season.

- March 26, 1975: Hue was liberated.

- March 29, 1975: Da Nang was liberated.

- April 30, 1975: Completely liberated the South, reunified the country, successfully ended the 21-year resistance war against the US to save the country (1954-1975)

- April 25, 1976: General election for the 6th National Assembly was held nationwide.

- From June 24 to July 3, 1976: The first session of the 6th National Assembly passed important decisions:

+ Country name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam

+ National flag: red background, in the middle is a 5-pointed yellow star

+ National emblem: circular, red background, in the middle is a 5-pointed yellow star, below is a cogwheel and the words: Socialist Republic of Vietnam

+ Capital: Hanoi

+ National Anthem: Marching Song

Officially named Saigon-Gia Dinh city as Ho Chi Minh City.

- In 1976, Vietnam established diplomatic relations with many countries, such as: Jamaica, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Philippines, Thailand...

- August 1976: Vietnam was elected to the Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

- December 31, 1976: Inauguration of the Thong Nhat railway line, over 1,700km long, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

- April 17, 1975: The Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh, took control of the country, and began implementing a genocidal policy in Cambodia that lasted until early 1979.

-April 19, 1975: India launched the first artificial satellite from the Soviet spaceport.

- December 2, 1975: The Lao People's Democratic Republic was established. Prince Suphanuvong was President.

- February 1976: The ASEAN Heads of State Conference in Bali signed a treaty (Bali Treaty) on the principles of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and cooperation between countries for mutual development.

- In 1976, Chairman of the Communist Party of China Mao Zedong (September 9, 1976) and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai (January 8, 1976) passed away. The 10-year "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" in China (1966-1976) ended.

- April 1, 1976: Apple was founded under the name Apple Computer, Inc with 3 founding members: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronal Wayne.

- July 28, 1976: The Tangshan earthquake (China) - one of the most catastrophic natural disasters - took the lives of about 255,000 people.

- August 17, 1976: A 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurred near the Philippine islands of Mindanao and Sulu, causing tsunamis up to 5 meters high (at the highest point), killing about 5,000-8,000 people.

- July 1976: The 1976 Summer Olympics took place in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. More than 6,000 athletes from 92 countries participated.

- August 22, 1976: The Soviet Union's Lunar 24 automatic station brought back some soil samples from the Moon to Earth.