General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: A lifetime for the Party and the people

The heart of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong - a communist soldier, an outstanding leader, intellectual, courageous, a great personality and loyal, stopped beating on July 19, 2024.

With 80 years of age, nearly 57 years of Party membership, 14 years as General Secretary, more than 2 years as President, more than 5 years as Chairman of the National Assembly, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has always been concerned and devoted to the revolutionary cause of the Party and nation, together with the Party Central Committee and the Government leading the entire Party, people and army to achieve many great achievements of historical significance.

Strive and sacrifice all your life for the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was born on April 14, 1944, in Dong Hoi commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi city.

Admitted to the Party on December 19, 1967, when he was just 23 years old and in his fourth year of the Faculty of Literature at Hanoi University, since then, party member Nguyen Phu Trong has been highly aware of cultivating and training himself with a beautiful and unwavering orientation, like the lyrics of a song or poem that the General Secretary mentioned many times: "If you are a flower, be a sunflower; if you are a bird, be a white dove; if you are a rock, be a diamond; if you are a person, be a communist" and "If there is one second, one minute left of breath; You must still fight and never stop!"

During his 57 years in the ranks of the Communist Party of Vietnam, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has always been absolutely loyal to the Party, the Fatherland and the People; in all circumstances, he has always demonstrated the mettle and intelligence of a staunch communist; steadfast in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, the goals of national independence and socialism; preserved, promoted and spread pure revolutionary ethics, pioneering and exemplary character, constantly studied, cultivated and trained; closely followed the grassroots, close to compatriots and comrades.

Having held many important positions assigned by the Party, State and People, such as: Member of the Party Central Committee (from the 7th to the 13th term), Member of the Politburo (from the 8th to the 13th term), General Secretary (from the 11th to the 13th term), President (from October 2018 to April 2021), Chairman of the National Assembly (11th and 12th terms), Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Magazine, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has made many great and important contributions to the revolutionary cause of our Party and people, especially in the cause of innovation, construction and defense of the Fatherland.

In particular, during the past three terms, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has made great contributions to the country's development, especially in the period of promoting industrialization, modernization, international integration, and implementing the strategy on national defense in the new situation.

However, as a person who lives a simple, modest, exemplary and sincere life, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in his speech when receiving the 55-year Party membership badge still only admitted that: "all that I have done is extremely small compared to the Party's educational and training achievements; the guidance and instruction of previous Party members; the cooperation and help of comrades and colleagues; the encouragement and support of the people, directly the agencies - where I used to study, work and work."

With his great and especially outstanding contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation, our Party and State awarded him the Gold Star Order - the most noble Order of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Outstanding theorist and scientist of the Party

As General Secretary, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has clearly demonstrated his core leadership role, together with the Central Executive Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat, building solidarity, unity of will and action within the Party, creating high unity in the political system, leading the entire Party, people and army to overcome difficulties and challenges, achieving many very important achievements in various fields, with outstanding marks, making the country's foundation, potential, position and international prestige increasingly higher and more sustainable.

Not only a talented leader, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is also an excellent theorist and scientist.

Not only a talented leader, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is also an excellent theorist and scientist.

As the theoretical flag bearer of the Party, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has made great contributions in theory, with his painstaking research work.Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam."

With tight arguments, profound analysis, and distillation from rich practice, he summarized the development history of the contemporary world as well as the revolutionary practice of Vietnam, thereby scientifically affirming the only correct path for the country's development - that is the socialist path.

Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: The Vietnamese people have gone through a long, arduous, and sacrificial revolutionary struggle against colonial and imperialist domination and invasion to protect national independence and sacred sovereignty, for the freedom and happiness of the people. National independence associated with socialism is the Party's fundamental and consistent line, the principle of success of the Vietnamese revolution, and also the key point in Ho Chi Minh's ideological legacy. Advancing to socialism is an objective requirement, the only inevitable and correct path to achieve freedom, prosperity, and happiness for the Vietnamese people.

In addition to this great theoretical work, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also made many contributions in specialized theoretical fields. These are the books: "Resolutely and persistently fight against corruption and negativity, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong.” (2/2023); "Some issues on military guidelines and national defense strategies in the cause of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in the new period" (7/2023); "Promoting the tradition of great national unity, building our country to be increasingly rich, civilized and happy." (11/2023); "Building and developing a comprehensive and modern Vietnamese foreign affairs and diplomacy, imbued with the identity of "Vietnamese bamboo"” (11/2023); “Building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity” (6/2024)…

The General Secretary's books have received special attention and have been highly appreciated by scholars, researchers at home and abroad and our people, not only because of the ideological value and content of the works, but also partly because of the author himself - a man of intelligence, personality and always steadfast in the goals and ideals chosen by the Party, President Ho Chi Minh and our people.

Leaving behind many valuable lessons, both theoretical and practical, in preventing and combating corruption and negativity.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always keeps in mind the words of President Ho Chi Minh: "A nation, a party and each individual, who were great yesterday and had great appeal, will not necessarily be loved and praised by everyone today and tomorrow, if their hearts are no longer pure, if they fall into individualism."

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also clearly understood that the Party must know how to correct itself, know how to rely on the people to rectify, and rectify from the top down. Therefore, he directly acted as Commander-in-Chief (Head of the Steering Committee) of the "war" against corruption, with an uncompromising spirit, whoever did not do it, whoever hesitated stood aside... and this "war" created strong trust among the people.

As Head of the Central Steering Committee on anti-corruption and anti-negativity, with great political determination, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has directed resolutely, persistently, synchronously, comprehensively, systematically, in-depth, with breakthroughs, linking anti-corruption and anti-negativity with Party building and rectification and the political system. Many ideas, viewpoints, guiding principles, and principles of action in anti-corruption and anti-negativity initiated and directed by the General Secretary have been effective, affirmed through practice, bringing many valuable lessons, both theoretically and practically.

The People's "furnace" was lit not only to make both "dry wood" and "fresh wood" burn, but also to serve as a deterrent and a thought for those who have not yet gotten their hands dirty.

This "war" has a theory and a plan. That theory is basically expressed in the work "Resolutely and persistently fight against corruption and negativity, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong.” (February 2023) of the General Secretary. This war has a clear goal and the decisive factor is the direct, close, comprehensive and regular leadership of the Party; relying on the people, listening to the people. Especially the exemplary and consistent example between words and actions, the persistent and unceasing struggle, the unity between the long-standing thoughts and concrete actions in the fight against corruption and negativity of the comrade.

Thanks to that, the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity has achieved many very important results, creating strong changes in the awareness and actions of the entire political system, increasing the trust of cadres, party members and people in the Party, State and our regime.

And reality proves that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has carried out his mission as a leader of the country in protecting the survival and development of the country through two parallel paths: law and culture. Law is the strictness and civilization of a state, of a nation, and culture is the soul and virtue of a nation.

The fight against corruption led by the General Secretary demonstrates the strictness of a State, the civilized lifestyle of a nation, and the cultural revival is the building of the personality and character of the nation.

The person who wins the complete "trust" of the people and lives in the "hearts of the people"

In every position, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always admonishes himself to cultivate the four virtues of "diligence, thrift, integrity, and uprightness" taught by President Ho Chi Minh; gradually matures and has devoted his whole life to the Party and the people.

At the same time, the General Secretary always requires each agency, locality, and each cadre to fully and deeply perceive their responsibilities, to wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly take care of the common work, to put the interests of the Party, the country, and the people above all else; to take the standards of political qualities, ethics, lifestyle, especially work efficiency, personal and family prestige as the main measure; to use criteria to properly evaluate cadres, select the right people, arrange the right work, and place them in the right place, to create a team, a group of collaborators that are compatible, united, unified, and powerful...

The people of the whole country always respect and trust General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong - a true communist, a talented leader, who is always consistent between words and actions, takes the people as a measure, takes the people as a standard, takes the people's interests as a goal to strive for; is always close to the people, is close to the people and has an extremely kind heart.

Recognizing the great contributions of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the late General Secretary Le Kha Phieu once affirmed: "He is a true communist, with a sincere and righteous heart. He has a kind personality, but is resolute and uncompromising in the Party rectification work to make our Party increasingly cleaner, worthy of being "a public servant, a loyal servant of the People" as President Ho once affirmed."

Please borrow a line from a famous work "Tempered Steel" by Soviet writer Nikolai Alekseyevich Ostrovsky to conclude the article and to offer a stick of incense to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong - who has made great and especially outstanding contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and our Nation: "All my life, all my strength, I have devoted to the most noble cause in the world - the cause of fighting for national liberation, human liberation to bring happiness to the people!".