Tieu Su Tong Bi thu Nguyen Van Linh

Nguyen Van Linh (1915-1998)
Nguyen Van Linh, whose real name was Nguyen Van Cuc (Muoi cuc), was born on 1st July 1915 in Yen Phu village, Giai Pham commune, Yen My district. His father was teacher Nguyen Van Lan.
During his childhood, Mr. Cuc had to experience many losses: he lost his mother at the age of 5 and at the age of 11, his father passed away. Since then, Nguyen Van Cuc lived with his uncle Nguyen Van Hung, a well educated officer working in Hai Phong Postal Department. Although having many children, Mr. Hung created favorable conditions for the energetic orphan nephew.
Living in a country ruled by invaders, Cuc's patriotism was showed when he was very young. He participated in revolutionary agencies led by Communist Party. Details are being studied about the period from the time he started to involve in revolutionary activities to the time when he was selected General Secretary of CPV Communist Party. These following are key points of his biography announced when he took office (“Nhan Dan”(people) newspaper on 19th December 1986).
In 1929, he took part in the Student Association led by Vietnam Revolutionary Youth League.
On 1 May, 1930, when involving in the distribution of leaflets against the French colonialism, he was arrested with life-imprisonment sentence and sent to Con Dao island. Among the politic prisoners here, he was the youngest one.
In 1936, when the Democracy Front came into power in French and encouraged the expansion of freedom and democracy, the French colonial government in Indochina had to release some political prisoners including Nguyen Van Cuc. During this time, he joined the Indochinese Communist Party and was sent to Hai Phong for a special task. In Hai Phong, along with other comrades, he established a number of confident and faithful revolutionary bases and Hai Phong provisional Party committee.
In 1939, as required by the Party, he went to work in Sai Gon and participated in the Executive Board of Sai Gon Party Committee. At the end of 1939, when the Second World War broke out, given the context of many revolutionary bases in the whole countries dissolved and was suppressed by the French colonial government, he was assigned to go to the central region to resume contact with remaining revolutionary bases in these provinces for establishing the regional Party committee.
In early 1941, he was arrested again and sent to Sai Gon with 5-year imprisonment and then sent to Con Dao for the second time.
After the August Revolution - 1945, Nguyen Van Linh returned to Nam Bo to lead the resistance movement in Sai Gon - Cho Lon in the position of Secretary of Party Committee, Secretary of Party Committee of Special zone. In 1949, he participated in the Standing board of Southern party committee.
In 1957-1960 he took responsibility of Acting Secretary of Southern party committee.
In the third National Congress (1960), he was selected in the Executive Board of the CPV Central Committee. During the resistance war against American Imperialism for Southern liberation, as the Deputy secretary and then the Secretary of Southern party committee, Nguyen Van Linh, together with other leaders of The Southern Party committee, led the resistance war against American imperialism to a landslide victory in the spring of 1975.
When two parts were reunified, he was selected as the Secretary of Ho Chi Minh city Party committee. Then in the 4th National congress- 1976, he was elected to be a member of the Executive Board of Central Committee and then Politburo, Secretariat of Central Committee. He held several positions including Head of re-education Board, Head of Advocacy and Fatherland Front and Head of Vietnam Trade union. From 1981 to 1986, he was appointed as the Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee.
In the fifth National Congress (1982), one more time he was elected as a member of Executive Board of Central Committee. Then he moved to the Politburo and Secretariat Committee and then became a standing member of Secretariat Board of Central Committee.
In the sixth National Congress (1986), he was elected as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee.
Nguyen Van Linh was one of Party’s leaders who initiated the renovation cause to change the central bureaucracy mechanism to multi-sectoral economy under socialist orientation with state-regulated market mechanism. In 1987, he wrote a number of articles clarifying the view of renovation. Issues mentioned in his document “Urgent tasks” helped to push up relevant state services to timely solve encountered problems in daily life and assist the cause of anti-corruption as well as the changes in the point of view in many people. In the seventh National Congress (1991), he left the position of General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee and served as the Advisor of CPV Central Committee.
He died on 27 April 1998 in Ho Chi Minh city.
Overcoming a great deal of difficulties, facing many dangers and upheavals, with his strong belief in the Revolutionary cause of the Party and the strategic vision and compatriotism embedded in his mind, in any position he always did his utmost to fulfill his tasks in the revolutionary cause. In addition to that, his personal qualities in communication were widely admired and became an epitome of simplicity, frankness and democracy.