The man who set a 'record' of 35 years as village chief

(Baonghean.vn) - Born in 1956 in a farming family in village 9, Ngoc Son commune, Thanh Chuong district, Mr. Bui Van Hung set a "record" for the district with 35 years as village chief and 20 consecutive years as Chairman of the Primary School Parents' Association.

In 1982, when he was only 26 years old, young man Bui Van Hung was elected village chief by the people of village 9 and has been continuously trusted to hold this position until today.

In addition to being the village chief, for 20 years he also held the position of Chairman of the Primary School Parents' Association, 4 terms of the Commune People's Council delegate, many terms of being a Party cell member with more than 30 members. During 35 years of working in his hometown, he was awarded many certificates of merit by the Commune People's Committee, District People's Committee; Certificate of merit from the Central Vietnam Farmers' Union, Medal for the cause of women's liberation by the Central Vietnam Women's Union...

Portrait of village chief Bui Van Hung.

For the villagers of village 9, when talking about that dedicated village chief, everyone is proud and has special respect for him. Mr. Le Van Hoi - Secretary of the Party cell of village 9 shared: “Our village chief said that he was determined to do it. When launching the irrigation canal construction, he had a hoe on his shoulder, and when going up the hill to reclaim land, he had a knife and a machete in his hand. He talked and worked, never just shouting. Although his family's economy was quite well off, he was very diligent, hardworking, increased production and practiced thrift. He is a shining example for the younger generation in the village to follow.”

Talking with Mr. Le Thuc Nhac - Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Ngoc Son Commune, he affirmed that it was not by chance that village chief Bui Van Hung was trusted by the people of village 9 in particular and the people of Ngoc Son Commune in general. Recalling the 80s - 90s of the last century, in the context of shortages and difficulties in food and clothing, he went to each household to encourage people to reclaim wasteland, renovate gardens to grow more potatoes and beans; encouraged people to raise livestock, and oriented young people to learn carpentry, blacksmithing, etc. to increase family income. Currently, his family raises 2 breeding cows, earning nearly 50 million VND each year.

Village chief Bui Van Hung is always devoted to the work of the collective. Photo: Dien Nguyen

In the new rural construction movement, village 9 has always been the "flagship" of the commune. He has mobilized people to contribute to upgrading the village street lighting system, mobilized people to build incinerators at home to protect the environment, mobilized children to participate in sports movements, and mobilized children far from home to contribute to supporting their hometown in building rural roads.

In 2012, he mobilized people to build 700m of new concrete road, in 2017 it increased to 1.1km... Currently, the average income per capita of the whole village reaches more than 25 million VND/year; the village has only 4/180 poor households; the village has achieved the title of culture with over 95% of cultural families. Those achievements have great contributions from veteran village chief Bui Van Hung.

We said goodbye to the 61-year-old village chief with gray hair. When we joked: "Currently, you are setting a "record" for being the longest-serving village chief in Thanh Chuong district. So when do you plan to stop being village chief?" He smiled warmly, his firm old farmer's hand tightening: "Many times, my family advised me to retire because I am old and my wife and I are still busy with 7 sao of rice fields, but they did not let me retire. I keep in mind that as long as the villagers still trust me, I will continue to try to fulfill my duties. The elderly must be exemplary, as for any record, I do not dare to accept it."

Nguyen Dien

(Propaganda Department of Thanh Chuong District Party Committee)