Throughout more than 30 years of revolutionary activity, holding various positions, General Nguyen Chi Thanh always placed the interests of the Party, the Fatherland, and the People above all else, determined to dedicate his entire life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.
Comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh, whose birth name was Nguyen Vinh, was born on January 1, 1914, into a patriotic peasant family in Niem Pho village, Quang Tho commune, Quang Dien district (Thua Thien Hue province ).
He joined the revolutionary movement at an early age. At just 23 years old (in 1937), he was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party; one year later, he was appointed Secretary of the Thua Thien Provincial Party Committee.
General Nguyen Chi Thanh. Source: National Archives Center III, National Assembly Photo Index, SLT 451-52
Comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh's revolutionary life was a series of extremely arduous but passionate struggles. For over 30 years of revolutionary activity, holding various positions, Comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh always placed the interests of the Party, the Fatherland, and the People above all else, determined to dedicate his entire life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.
General Nguyen Chi Thanh (second from the left) in Viet Bac in 1953. Photo: People's Army Newspaper.
He believed that "the noblest moral virtue of a communist is self-sacrifice and struggle; sacrifice is the sacrifice of the individual, and struggle is the struggle for the revolution." He served as Secretary of the Thua Thien Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Central Vietnam Regional Party Committee, Secretary of the Binh-Tri-Thien Sub-regional Party Committee, Secretary of the 4th Inter-regional Party Committee, Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Party in the 2nd and 3rd terms, Head of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Head of the Central Rural Affairs Committee, Secretary of the Central Bureau for the Southern Region, Secretary of the Southern Military Commission, and Political Commissar of the Southern Liberation Armed Forces of Vietnam.
At the age of 24, serving as Secretary of the Thua Thien Provincial Party Committee, following the directive of the Central Vietnam Regional Party Committee, in September 1938, he led the revolutionary masses in a struggle that thwarted the French colonialists' and the Southern government's tax increase project. After that struggle, at the end of 1938, he was arrested for the first time and released, continuing his activities, leading and directing many rallies and demonstrations by the people to fight against the repression and terror of the French colonialists.
On the morning of December 29, 2023, in Hue City, the Ministry of National Defense, in coordination with the Central Propaganda Department and Thua Thien Hue province, organized a scientific conference commemorating the 110th anniversary of the birth of General Nguyen Chi Thanh with the theme: "General Nguyen Chi Thanh - A strategic leader and outstanding practical director of the Vietnamese revolution." (Photo: Vietnam Law Newspaper).
In mid-1939, he was arrested by the French colonial authorities and sentenced to hard labor, imprisoned in Thua Phu, Lao Bao, and Buon Ma Thuot prisons. During his imprisonment, despite being subjected to many brutal tortures, he remained steadfast, demonstrating an indomitable spirit, courage, and unwavering communist integrity. As the Party Branch Secretary in the prison, he proved to be a loyal communist fighter in organizing the struggle against terror, torture, and beatings of prisoners, improving prison living conditions, and at the same time, paying close attention to the political theory education of Party members in the branch and political prisoners.
Despite being imprisoned three times by the imperialists, each time he escaped or was released, he returned to the revolution and the people, continuing his activities and contributing to building the Party's base and promoting the revolutionary movement in Thua Thien province during that period.
In his roles as Secretary of the Central Vietnam Regional Party Committee, Secretary of the Thua Thien Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Binh-Tri-Thien Sub-region, and then Secretary of the Inter-regional Party Committee IV, he creatively applied the Party's people's war strategy to the practical realities of the Thua Thien battlefield. He contributed to making bold decisions that significantly shifted leadership, reversed the situation, created revolutionary turning points, and gradually restored the resistance on the Hue front, opening up a new phase. Thanks to this, the revolutionary movement in Binh-Tri-Thien integrated with the nationwide movement, contributing to halting the strategic division plot of the French colonialists.
Comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh became the soul of the Bình-Trị-Thiên resistance war, truly deserving of the title "Guerrilla General" bestowed upon him by President Ho Chi Minh.
Comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh planting rice with farmers of Chien Thang Cooperative (Quang Binh province). Photo: Huu Thoan - VNA.
Throughout the revolutionary transitions, with his political qualities, ethics, and leadership abilities, General Nguyen Chi Thanh was always entrusted with many important responsibilities by the Party and President Ho Chi Minh. As Head of the Central Committee's Rural Affairs Department, during the first five-year plan (1961-1965), under General Nguyen Chi Thanh's leadership and guidance, the agricultural front ensured food supplies for the people, contributing to building the North into a solid rear base, initially supporting the revolution in the South, and contributing to the complete victory of the resistance war against the US and for national salvation.
As our nation's resistance war against the US entered its crucial stage, General Nguyen Chi Thanh was sent to the South. In his capacity as Secretary of the Central Bureau and Political Commissar of the Southern Liberation Army, he played a key role in correctly identifying the US strategic shift from "Special War" to "Local War" (1965-1968).
Throughout his revolutionary career, he consistently upheld the goal of national independence linked with socialism, national liberation linked with class liberation, the liberation of the working people, and the liberation of humanity. He always cared for and fostered solidarity and unity among the ethnic groups within the Vietnamese national community, and between the Vietnamese nation and other nations in the world; strengthening the solidarity between the military and the people, and consolidating the worker-peasant-intellectual alliance. He placed particular emphasis on reforming Party organizations and developing mass organizations.
In June 1967, at the request of the Central Committee, he went to Hanoi to report on the situation and operational plans of the battlefields and to receive further instructions. On July 6, 1967, the very day he was scheduled to return to the Southern battlefield, he suddenly passed away after a severe heart attack.
President Ho Chi Minh and General Nguyen Chi Thanh by a lotus pond in Ha Tinh City. (Archival photo)
At 53 years old, with over 30 years dedicated to the Party and the People, the life and career of General Nguyen Chi Thanh is a shining example of a steadfast and exemplary communist; a talented leader; an outstanding son of the nation; and an excellent disciple of President Ho Chi Minh.
The 110th anniversary of the birth of General Nguyen Chi Thanh (January 1, 1914 - January 1, 2024) is an opportunity for us to reflect on his life, activities, and immense contributions to the Party and the Vietnamese revolution. At the same time, it serves to promote and educate about patriotism, revolutionary traditions, history, political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, and to resolutely implement the resolutions of the 13th Party Congress for a prosperous, strong, democratic, just, and civilized nation, inspiring the aspiration to build and develop a powerful, prosperous, and happy country.
TH
(Compiled from documents of the Central Propaganda Department).
(Compiled from documents of the Central Propaganda Department).
Source
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presides over a meeting on private sector economic development.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F1200x675%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2025%2F12%2F20%2F1766237501876_thiet-ke-chua-co-ten-40-png.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)