Võ Văn Kiệt
| Võ Văn Kiệt | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam | |
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In office 24 September 1992 – 24 September 1997 |
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| President | Lê Đức Anh |
| Deputy | Phan Văn Khải |
| Preceded by | Đỗ Mười |
| Succeeded by | Phan Văn Khải |
|
Chairman of the Council of Ministers (acting) |
|
|
In office 8 August 1991 – 24 September 1992 |
|
| Preceded by | Đỗ Mười |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
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In office 10 March 1988 – 22 June 1988 |
|
| Preceded by | Phạm Hùng |
| Succeeded by | Đỗ Mười |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam | |
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In office 23 April 1982 – 8 August 1991 |
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| Prime Minister |
Phạm Văn Đồng Phạm Hùng Đỗ Mười |
| Succeeded by | Phan Văn Khải |
| Chairman of the State Planning Commission | |
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In office April 1982 – March 1988 |
|
| Preceded by | Nguyễn Lam |
| Succeeded by | Đậu Ngọc Xuân |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 November 1922 Trung Hiep, Cochinchina, French Indochina |
| Died | June 11, 2008 (aged 85) Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore |
| Political party | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| Spouse(s) | Phan Lương Cầm |
Võ Văn Kiệt (23 November 1922 – 11 June 2008) was a Vietnamese politician and statesman. He was a veteran fighter in the long war against French and then American military forces in South Vietnam. In the difficult years following the war, he was one of the most prominent political leaders that led the innovation (Đổi mới) policy in Vietnam. He served as Prime Minister of Vietnam from 8 August 1991 to 25 September 1997, the period experienced the communist nation's return to the world arena after decades of war and isolation.
Kiệt was born in 1922 into a peasant family in Trung Hiệp village, Vũng Liêm district, Vĩnh Long province in the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, then a part of Cochinchina in what was called French Indochina. His birth name was Phan Văn Hòa and he changed it to Võ Văn Kiệt when he was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party in 1939. He also had a pseudonym, Sáu Dân. He joined the Anti-imperialist Youth Movement and took part in the Nam Kỳ (Cochinchina) insurrection in Vũng Liêm district.
As a member of the communist-led Viet Minh independence movement, Kiệt fought the French in the First Indochina War (1946–54) in Southern Vietnam. According to Geneva Accords, communist cadres were forced to gather in North Vietnam, but he was among those who remained in the South, moving between secret bases in the southeastern region. His first wife, Trần Kim Anh, and his two children were killed in a rocket attack by US forces in 1966.
In 1960, he was elected alternate member of the Communist Party Central Committee and a member of COSVN in 1961, in command of communist forces in Saigon and surrounding areas. After North Vietnamese forces took control of Saigon in April 30, 1975, he led the takeover of the city and in 1976 was appointed as Chairman of the People’s Committee (alias governor) as well deputy party secretary of the city, which had been renamed to Ho Chi Minh City in memory of the deceased leader.
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