Nguyen Huu Tho
Who was Nguyen Huu Tho?
Vietnamese politician (1910-1996)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Nguyen Huu Tho (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (10 July 1910 – 24 December 1996) was a Vietnamese lawyer, revolutionary, and politician who played a key role in the fight against French colonial rule and later in the reunification of Vietnam. Born in what is now Ho Chi Minh City, he trained as a lawyer and used this background to fuel his political activism for decades. He passed away in Hanoi on 24 December 1996, having witnessed and shaped major events in twentieth-century Vietnamese history.
Thọ's political career took off in 1949 when he organized protests against French colonial rule and the presence of U.S. naval ships off the southern Vietnamese coast. This led to his arrest and imprisonment from 1950 to 1952. While jailed, he staged a long hunger strike that attracted public attention and made him more prominent among Vietnamese nationalists. After the 1954 Geneva Accords split Vietnam into a communist north and a U.S.-backed south, Thọ stayed in the south and initially worked with President Ngô Đình Diệm's government. However, he was arrested again after creating a group to push for national reunification through elections suggested by the 1954 accords for 1956, which never took place.
In 1961, Thọ escaped from prison and took leadership of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, which he co-founded on 20 December 1960. He first served as interim president and then as chairman of the Viet Cong, leading an armed insurgency against the South Vietnamese government during the Vietnam War. When North Vietnam set up the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in June 1969, Thọ became Chairman of its Consultative Council, a role he held until the fall of Saigon in April 1975 and the collapse of the South Vietnamese government. After the military victory, he briefly served as Prime Minister of the newly declared Republic of South Vietnam.
Once Vietnam was formally reunified and became the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976, Thọ became one of the country's two vice-presidents, serving under President Tôn Đức Thắng. He later served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam from 4 July 1981 to 18 June 1987, holding significant authority during an important period of postwar governance. Throughout his career, he received various honors for his political and revolutionary efforts, including the Lenin Peace Prize, the Gold Star Order, and the Order of Friendship of Peoples.
Before Fame
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ was born on July 10, 1910, in what is now Ho Chi Minh City, then part of French Cochinchina, during a time when Vietnam was under French colonial rule. He studied law and became a lawyer at a time when Vietnamese professionals were becoming involved in nationalist and anti-colonial movements. His legal education provided him with a platform and analytical skills that he used in political organizing.
By the late 1940s, resistance against French rule was escalating across Indochina, and Thọ became a significant activist in the south. In 1949, he led public protests against French colonial authority and the American naval presence, marking his active engagement in resistance politics. During this time, many educated southern Vietnamese were deciding whether to collaborate with, accommodate, or oppose colonial power, and Thọ took a more confrontational approach that would shape his future.
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) on 20 December 1960 and served as its chairman
- Served as Chairman of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam from 1969 to 1976
- Became one of the first two vice-presidents of the reunified Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976
- Served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam from 1981 to 1987
- Received the Lenin Peace Prize, the Gold Star Order, and the Order of Friendship of Peoples
Did You Know?
- 01.Thọ conducted an extended hunger strike while imprisoned between 1950 and 1952, an act that substantially boosted his public reputation among Vietnamese nationalists.
- 02.He co-founded the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam on 20 December 1960, a date now commemorated in Vietnam as the founding day of the organization.
- 03.Despite being a southerner who remained in South Vietnam after partition, Thọ rose to become one of the two vice-presidents of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam after 1976.
- 04.He served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam for six years, from 1981 to 1987, giving him significant legislative authority in the postwar state.
- 05.Thọ received the Soviet Union's Lenin Peace Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards available to political figures aligned with the communist bloc during the Cold War.
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lenin Peace Prize | — | — |
| Gold Star Order | — | — |
| Order of Friendship of Peoples | — | — |