Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
President of Vietnam
Died when: 86 years 167 days (1037 months)Star Sign: Cancer
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (10 July 1910 – 24 December 1996) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and Chairman of Consultative Council of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam from 6 June 1969 to 2 July 1976, and the Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam from 4 July 1981 to 18 June 1987.
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ began his political career in 1949, when he participated in leading positions in the protests against the French occupation of Indochina and the patrols of US warships off the coast of South Vietnam.
Because of these activities he was arrested and served between 1950 and 1952 a prison sentence.During this time he gained a great reputation among the population because of his extended hunger strike against the Indochina war.
After the partition of Vietnam into communist North Vietnam and pro-US South Vietnam in 1954, he remained in his South Vietnamese homeland and subsequently co-operated with the government of President Ngô Đình Diệm until he was arrested again for attending nationwide elections to achieve reunification.
With the exception of a brief break, he was between 1954 to his escape in 1961, mainly in prisons in South Vietnam.
After his escape, he was first interim president and then chairman of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, which was co-founded by him on December 20, 1960 (Mặt Trận Giải Phóng Miền Nam Việt Nam,).
With this liberation movement he carried out successful protests against the government of South Vietnam.During the Vietnam War, the NLF founded the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam in June 1969, in which Huỳnh Tấn Phát became President and he himself became Chairman of the Consultative Council.
After the conquest of Saigon by a unit of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong in April 1975, he became Prime Minister of South Vietnam.
After the reunification and the founding of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976, he was one of two vice-presidents and thus deputy of Tôn Đức Thắng.
At the same time he was the first mayor of Ho Chi Minh City.After Tôn Đức Thắng's death on 30 March 1980, he became acting President of Vietnam and held that post until his replacement by Trường Chinh on 4 July 1981.
He then served as Deputy Chairman of the Council of State from 1981 to 1992, Trường Chinh and Võ Chí Công.
At the same time he was from 1981 to 1987 Chairman of the National Assembly (Quốc hội Việt Nam) and thus Parliament President.
Most recently, between 1988 and 1994, he was chairman of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front (Mặt trận Tổ quốc Việt Nam), the umbrella organization for mass organizations in the country.
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President of Vietnam
President of Vietnam
President of Vietnam