Le Duan: A lifelong leader for the Party and the people

(Baonghean)- At 79 years old, 56 years in the Party, and nearly 60 years of revolutionary activities, comrade Le Duan's life and revolutionary career are closely linked to the revolutionary process of our nation.

Comrade Le Duan was an outstanding leader of the Party and an excellent student of President Ho Chi Minh. Photo courtesy

Comrade Le Duan's real name is Le Van Nhuan, born on April 7, 1907, in Hau Kien village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province. Coming from a working-class family with a tradition of patriotism, comrade Le Duan was enlightened about the revolution from a very early age. Comrade Le Duan was among the first people to respond to the call of comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc to follow the revolutionary path of Marxism-Leninism. He joined the Revolutionary Youth Association in 1928.

After the Communist Party of Vietnam was born, in June 1930, the Hanoi Party Committee was officially established. Directly introduced by comrade Nguyen Ngoc Vu - the first Secretary of the City Party Committee, comrade Le Duan became a communist party member, active in the city Party Committee, belonging to the first class of communist party members in Hanoi.

In 1931, comrade Le Duan was appointed as a member of the Propaganda Committee of the Northern Regional Party Committee. Afterwards, he was captured by the enemy in Hai Phong and sentenced to 20 years in prison, and was imprisoned in French colonial prisons such as Hoa Lo (Hanoi), Son La, and Con Dao from 1931 to 1936. The enemy's brutality did not make him submit; on the contrary, it further tempered his will, forged his intelligence and the qualities of a revolutionary soldier.

In October 1936, in the face of the struggle movement of our people and the victory of the Popular Front in France, the colonial government in Indochina was forced to release many Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers, including comrade Le Duan. Just out of prison, he enthusiastically participated in revolutionary activities in the Central provinces, implementing the Party Central Committee's policy of establishing the Indochina Democratic Front to mobilize and gather the masses to fight against colonial reactionaries, against the threat of fascism and war. In 1937, comrade Le Duan was appointed to hold the position of Secretary of the Central Party Committee. From then until 1939, he actively worked in many localities of the Central region, from Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue to the South Central region.

In 1939, he was appointed to the Party Central Committee and at the end of that year, together with comrade Nguyen Van Cu, General Secretary of the Party, chaired the 6th Conference of the Party Central Committee in November 1939, deciding to establish the Indochina Anti-Imperialist Front to replace the Democratic Front, shifting the revolutionary struggle to a new period for the Vietnamese revolution: from fighting for democratic rights and people's livelihood to fighting with the goal of directly overthrowing the imperialist, colonialist, and feudalist regimes. This was the opening step of a new revolutionary movement, leading to the victory of the August Revolution.

Comrade Le Duan during the reception of Cuban President Fidel Castro to visit and encourage the just fight of the Vietnamese people. Photo archive

Captured by the French colonialists and exiled to Con Dao for the second time (1940 - 1945), along with other communist soldiers, comrade Le Duan once again demonstrated his revolutionary qualities and mettle, overcoming challenges and remaining loyal to the Party and the nation.

The August Revolution succeeded, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born, comrade Le Duan and many other elite cadres of the Party were welcomed back to the mainland by President Ho Chi Minh, the Party Central Committee and the people. Just released from the imperial prison, he eagerly entered a new battle.

Comrade Le Duan's revolutionary life was always closely associated with the Southern region. In his position as Deputy Secretary, then Secretary of the Southern Regional Party Committee, and after the 2nd Party Congress (1951), as a member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Central Office for Southern Vietnam, he excellently completed the task assigned by the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh, which was to directly lead the resistance war against French colonialism in the South. From the success of the resistance war in the South, our Party drew valuable experiences for the resistance war against French colonialism and for the fight against the US to save the country.

After the Geneva Agreement was signed, from 1954 to 1957, under the assignment of the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh, comrade Le Duan stayed in the South to continue leading the people in the struggle to demand the opponent to implement the 1954 Geneva Agreement on Vietnam and Indochina. Based on the theory of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's thought on war and revolution, in 1956, comrade Le Duan drafted the famous document: Outline of the Southern Revolution.

The Outline clearly stated: the government of South Vietnam was a new colonial government, a lackey of the US imperialists. That government had brutally trampled on the achievements that our people had won in the resistance war against the French colonialists, and sabotaged the Geneva Agreement. The correct and creative ideas that the Outline of the Southern Revolution raised made an important contribution to the birth of the 15th Central Resolution (term II) and many Resolutions of the Politburo and the Central Executive Committee of the Party, contributing to the planning of the revolutionary strategies of the two regions of the South and North throughout the period of resistance against the US and national salvation.

In mid-1957, comrade Le Duan was assigned to work in Hanoi. Along with comrades Ton Duc Thang, Truong Chinh, Pham Van Dong, Vo Nguyen Giap..., he was one of the close associates of President Ho Chi Minh.

In 1960, at the Third National Congress of the Party, comrade Le Duan was re-elected to the Central Executive Committee, elected to the Politburo, and held the position of First Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the Party.

Since 1969, after President Ho Chi Minh passed away, comrade Le Duan, together with the Politburo and the Central Executive Committee, planned strategic issues and solved theoretical and practical problems of the Vietnamese revolution.

The work Under the glorious flag of the Party, for independence, freedom, for socialism, moving forward to win new victories, written by him in 1970, is an important theoretical document summarizing the experiences of the past revolutionary period, pointing out the direction and tasks of the new period, both carrying out the socialist revolution in the North, building a strong rear for the whole country; and carrying out the people's national democratic revolution in the South, moving towards national reunification, fulfilling international obligations.

Our nation's resistance war against the US to save the country was an extremely heroic and creative people's war. Under the leadership of the Party, the entire nation of millions of people as one bravely fought and defeated many war strategies of the US imperialists and their lackeys, from "unilateral war" to "special war" to "local war", "Vietnamization war" and won total victory in the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising to liberate the South and unify the country.

During his 15 years as First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, in the context of the country undergoing extremely serious challenges and the complicated international situation, comrade Le Duan, together with the Politburo and the Party Central Committee, firmly maintained the policy of independence and self-reliance, sought international aid, assistance and solidarity, and wisely led the people and revolutionary armed forces of our entire country to defeat the American invaders and their lackeys, liberate the South, and unify the country.

Since 1976, continuing his position as General Secretary of the Party Central Committee, together with the Politburo and the Central Committee, comrade Le Duan has focused much effort on planning the path to build and defend the Fatherland.

With nearly 60 years of continuous, rich, and vibrant revolutionary activities, including nearly 30 years holding the positions of First Secretary and General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Le Duan made enormous contributions to the revolutionary cause of our Party and our people. Comrade Le Duan devoted his entire life to the Party and the nation, for the noble ideal: an independent, unified Vietnam moving towards socialism, and the Vietnamese people having a free, prosperous, and happy life.

Nguyen Thi Hong Vui

(Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department)