State President Le Duc Anh was born on December 1, 1920, in An Loc commune, Phu Loc district, Thua Thien-Hue and resided at 5A Hoang Dieu street, Quan Thanh ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi.
He started his revolutionary career in 1937 and become a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam in May 1938. From 1938 to 1945, he engaged actively in local revolutionary movements, and joined the nation to rise up in arms to win national independence and freedom in August 1945.
He participated in the resistant war against the French for 10 years between 1945 and 1954, and then, in the national liberation war against U.S. invaders till Spring 1975.
After the August Revolution was launched by the Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) against the French colonial rule in Vietnam, he worked as platoon leader, and then became a political officer of a battalion and a regiment.
From October 1948 to 1950, he was Chief of Staff of Military Region 7 and 8 that fought in the southeastern front.
From 1951 to 1954, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and acting Chief of Staff of South Vietnam. From August 1963, he served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army.
Le Duc Anh was the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Armed Forces in South Vietnam from February 1964 to 1974.
He was promoted from Colonel to Lieutenant General in June 1974, before serving as Deputy Commander of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, a large-scale offensive conducted by the Vietnamese revolutionary forces that aimed to liberate Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and unify the country in 1975.
In May 1976, Le Duc Anh was appointed to Commander of Military Region 9, which was tasked with organizing, building, managing and commanding local armed forces to defend the Mekong Delta. From June 1978 to 1981, he was the Commander and Political Commissar of the Military Region 7 in Ho Chi Minh City.
He became a Senior Lieutenant General in 1980.
In 1981, he was appointed to Deputy Minister of National Defense.
The same year, he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnamese armed forces in Cambodia, which backed the Cambodian people and armed forces in ousting the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.
In 1984, Le Duc Anh was promoted to General of the Vietnam People’s Army.
Between 1982 and 2001 he was a member of the Politburo.
He served as the Minister of National Defense from 1987 to 1991. In September, 1992, General Le Duc Anh was elected as the President of Vietnam and finished his presidency in 1997.
He was still a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party and advisor to the Party's Central Committee from 1997 until 2001.
During his more-than-80-year revolutionary career, former State President and General Le Duc Anh made a great contribution to the revolutionary cause of the Party and people. For his contribution, he was awarded by the Party and State a number of noble honors, including a “Golden Star” Order, a first-class “Military Exploit” Order, a first-class “Feat of Arms” Order and a “80-year Party Membership” insignia.
Former State President and General Le Duc Anh’s decease is a great loss to the Party, State, army and people of Vietnam.
In a mournful atmosphere of the State mourning, many leaders of the Party, State, National Assembly, Ministry of National Defense, Central agencies, ministries, organizations, localities and people were present at the National Funeral House in Hanoi to pay homage to late State President and General Le Duc Anh.
The PANO would like to present several pictures of delegations paying respect to the late State President.
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A delegation of the Party Central Committee led by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pays respect to the late State President. |
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Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan leads an NA delegation to pay homage to the late State President. |
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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc leads a delegation of the Government to pay respect to the late State President. |
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Vice State President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh leads a delegation of State agencies to pay homage to the late State President. |
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President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man and people from a walk of life pay homage to the late State President. |
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Minister of National Defense, General Ngo Xuan Lich, leads a delegation of the Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defense to pay respect to former State President and General Le Duc Anh. |
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The funeral also sees a large number of delegations of Central- and local-level agencies and organizations, international friends and people who came to the National Funeral House to pay homage to the late State President. |
Translated by Thu Nguyen