- In this Vietnamese name, the family name is Lê, but is often simplified as Le in English-language text. According to Vietnamese custom, this person properly should be referred to by the given name Duẩn.
Lê Duẩn (b. April 7, 1907 - d. July 10, 1986) was a Vietnamese communist leader. He became North Vietnam's acting party chief in late 1956. By 1958, he was the country's top policy maker, although nominally number two behind figurehead Hồ Chí Minh. He officially became the top leader when Hồ died in 1969. He led a unified Vietnam from 1975 until his death in 1986. He was a driving force behind the Vietnam War (1958-75).
Duẩn was introduced to communism while a railroad worker during the 1920s. He was a founding member of the Indochinese Communist Party. Duẩn served on the North Vietnamese Central Committee under Hồ and directed the formation of an underground communist organization in South Vietnam. He began performing the duties of first secretary (head of the communist party) on behalf of Hồ in late 1956. In December 1957, Hồ told the 13th Plenary Session of a "dual revolution," implying that Duẩn's efforts to promote insurgency in the South were just as important as Trường Chinh's internal reforms. On May Day 1958, Duẩn was, for the first time, seated in such a way as to suggest he was North Vietnam's number two leader, thus displacing Trường. Duẩn officially became first secretary in 1960. Duẩn was able to use the Sino-Soviet split and the Vietnam War to extract aid from both Moscow and Beijing with no strings attached. Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin made extensive commitments, including modern anti-aircraft missiles, during meetings with Duẩn in Hanoi in February 1965.
After Hồ's death in 1969, Duẩn assumed formal leadership of North Vietnam's government. After the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975, Duẩn became leader of a unified Vietnamese state. He approved a Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia late in 1978 to overthrow the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge government of that country. This caused a disruption in relations between Vietnam and China, and Vietnam responded by deporting ethnic Chinese residents of the country and cultivating a closer alliance with the Soviet Union. China launch an invasion of Vietnam in February 1979, known as the Sino-Vietnamese War. In 1979, Duẩn was awarded Lenin Peace Prize.
Duẩn remained general secretary until his death in 1986. He died of natural causes in Hanoi at age 79 and was briefly succeeded by his old rival Trường Chinh. Lê Duẩn was also known as Le Dung, and was known publicly as "anh Ba", or "Third Brother."
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