kids encyclopedia robot

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
General Secretary of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam flag logo.svg
Emblem of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Nguyen Phu Trong 2.jpg
Incumbent
Nguyễn Phú Trọng

since 19 January 2011
Member of
  • Central Committee
  • Political Bureau
  • Central Military Commission
  • Secretariat
Appointer Central Committee
Term length Five years, renewable twice consecutively
Precursor First Secretary
Inaugural holder Trần Phú
Formation 27 October 1930; 93 years ago (1930-10-27)

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: [Tổng Bí thư Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), known as First Secretary (Vietnamese: [Bí thư Thứ nhất] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) from 1960 to 1976, is the highest office within the Communist Party of Vietnam and typically the supreme leader of Vietnam. The General Secretaryship was the second-highest office within the party when Hồ Chí Minh was Chairman, a post which existed from 1951 to 1969. The general secretary is also the Secretary of the Central Military Commission, the leading Party organ on military affairs. For a period in its history, the position of general secretary has been synonymous with the paramount leader of Vietnam. The current general secretary is Nguyễn Phú Trọng, and he is ranked first in the Politburo.

Trần Phú, one of the founding members of the Indochinese Communist Party, was the party's first general secretary. A year after being elected, he was sentenced to prison by the French authorities because of anti-French activities. He died in prison the same year. Trần's de facto successor was Lê Hồng Phong who led the party through the office of General Secretary of the Overseas Executive Committee (OEC). The OEC general secretary led the party because the Central Committee had been all but annihilated. Hà Huy Tập, the third general secretary, was removed from his post in March 1938, and was arrested by the authorities in May. Nguyễn Văn Cừ, the fourth general secretary, was arrested by the authorities in June 1940, and executed by shooting on 25 May 1941. He was succeeded by Trường Chinh in May 1941. An article in Nhân Dân on 25 March 1951 described Trường Chinh's role as the "builder and commander" of the revolution, while Hồ Chí Minh was referred to as "the soul of the Vietnamese revolution and the Vietnamese resistance". Trường Chinh was demoted as First Secretary in 1956 because of his role in the Land Reform campaign". Hồ Chí Minh took over the office of First Secretary, but quickly appointed Lê Duẩn acting First Secretary. Duẩn was elected general secretary in 1960, and was the second only to Hồ Chí Minh until the latter's death on 2 September 1969.

From 2 September 1969 until his death on 10 July 1986, Duẩn was the undisputed leader of Vietnam. He died two months before the next National Party Congress, and was succeeded by Trường Chinh, the former general secretary who had served as the second-most powerful politician in Vietnam since Hồ Chí Minh's death. Trường Chinh was demoted from his post at the 6th National Party Congress, and was succeeded by Nguyễn Văn Linh. The Western press called Linh "Vietnam's Gorbachev" because of his reformist policies. Linh resigned because of bad health in 1991, and Đỗ Mười was appointed to the general secretaryship by the 7th National Congress. Mười ruled until 1997, when he was ousted from power by the reformist-wing of the party. Lê Khả Phiêu was Mười's successor, and he was elected as a compromise candidate. Phiêu was ousted in 2001, before the 10th National Party Congress, when the Central Committee overturned a decision of the Politburo; a majority in the Central Committee voted to remove Phiêu as general secretary. Nông Đức Mạnh succeeded Phiêu, and Manh came to be considered a moderniser. Manh was also the first general secretary with a university degree. Manh retired in 2011, and Nguyễn Phú Trọng succeeded him, and he now is considered the most powerful political figure in Vietnam.

The General Secretary presides over the work of the Central Committee, the Political Bureau, the Secretariat, and chairs meetings with key leaders (Working Regulation of the Central Committee, 2011).

The current general secretary is Nguyễn Phú Trọng, who was elected to the position in 2011 and currently serves a record third term.

Officeholders

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party
Tổng Bí thư Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Đông Dương
No.
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Took office Left office Rank
Central Committee
1 A young man, in a suit with a pale shirt and dark tie Trần Phú
(1904–1931)
27 October 1930 6 September 1931 1 Provisional Central Committee
(1930–35)
2 A young man, in a suit with a pale shirt and dark tie Lê Hồng Phong
(1902–1942)
27 October 1931 26 July 1936 1 1st Central Committee (1935–45)
3 A young man, in a suit with a pale shirt and dark tie Hà Huy Tập
(1906–1941)
26 July 1936 30 March 1938 1
4 A young man, in a pale shirt and dark jacket Nguyễn Văn Cừ
(1912–1941)
30 March 1938 9 November 1940 1
5 A balding man looking to the left, dressed in a dark jascket buttoned to the neck Trường Chinh
(1907–1988)
9 November 1940 11 November 1945 1
1st Central Committee (1935–45)
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam
Bí thư Thứ nhất Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Lao động Việt Nam
No.
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Took office Left office Rank Central Committee
5 A balding man looking to the left, dressed in a dark jascket buttoned to the neck Trường Chinh
(1907–1988)
19 February 1951 5 October 1956 2 2nd Central Committee (1951–60)
6 A thin-faced man with a long beard wearing traditional clothing Hồ Chí Minh
(1890–1969)
5 October 1956 10 September 1960 1 2nd Central Committee (1951–60)
3rd Central Committee (1960–76)
7 Le Duan.jpg Lê Duẩn
(1907–1986)
10 September 1960 20 December 1976 2
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Tổng Bí thư Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam
7 Le Duan.jpg Lê Duẩn
(1907–1986)
20 December 1976 10 July 1986 1 4th Central Committee (1976–82)
5th Central Committee (1982–86)
5 A balding man looking to the left, dressed in a dark jacket buttoned to the neck Trường Chinh
(1907–1988)
14 July 1986 18 December 1986 1 5th Central Committee (1982–86)
8 Nguyễn Văn Linh
(1915–1998)
18 December 1986 28 June 1991 1 6th Central Committee (1986–91)
9 An old graying man wearing suit and tie Đỗ Mười
(1917–2018)
28 June 1991 26 December 1997 1 7th Central Committee (1991–96)
8th Central Committee (1996–2001)
10 Colonel general Lê Khả Phiêu
(1931–2020)
26 December 1997 22 April 2001 1
11 a man with greying black hair, wearing a suit and tie Nông Đức Mạnh
(1940–)
22 April 2001 19 January 2011 1 9th Central Committee (2001–06)
10th Central Committee (2006–11)
12 Nguyen Phu Trong 2.jpg Nguyễn Phú Trọng
(1944–)
19 January 2011 Incumbent 1 11th Central Committee (2011–16)
12th Central Committee (2016–21)
13th Central Committee (2021–26)
Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam
Chủ tịch Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Lao động Việt Nam
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Took office Left office Rank Central Committee
* A thin-faced man with a long beard wearing traditional clothing Hồ Chí Minh
(1890–1969)
19 February 1951 2 September 1969 1 2nd Central Committee (1951–60)
3rd Central Committee (1960–76)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Secretario General del Partido Comunista de Vietnam para niños

kids search engine
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.