Trường Chinh (pseudonym meaning “Long March”, born Đặng Xuân Khu) (1907-1988) was a Vietnamese communist political leader and theoretician. From 1941 to 1957, he was Vietnam's second-ranked communist leader (after Hồ Chí Minh). Following the death of Lê Duẩn in 1986, he was briefly Vietnam's top leader.
Trường joined the Vietnamese Communist Party sometime during the 1930s. He became an admirer of the Chinese Communist leader, Mao Zedong, and adopted the pseudonym Truong Chinh, which was the Vietnamese name for Long March. In 1941, Trường became the first secretary of the communist party and thus the party's second ranking leader after Hồ Chí Minh. In the following years, the party fought a war for independence against the French colonists. The communists gained power in North Vietnam in 1955, while a non-communist government retained power in South Vietnam.
In the 1950s, Trường undertook land reforms in North Vietnam inspired by Mao. This policy caused many deaths from starvation. Trường had already been criticized for his willingness to disagree with other party leaders and for his support of China while other leaders relied on the Soviet Union as their role model. The Sino-Soviet split reduced China's influence in Hanoi and Trường lost the position of first secretary toward the end of 1956. However, he was still seated as the second-ranking leader at the 1957 May Day parade. At the 1958 May Day parade, Lê Duẩn was ranked second, but Trường remained a powerful figure on the Politburo.
Vietnam was unified in 1975 and Trường was selected president (a ceremonial position) in 1981. He became general secretary and Vietnam's top leader in July 1986 following Lê Duẩn's death. He was ousted by reformers at Sixth Party Congress in December 1986, part of a sweeping leadership change that marked the beginning of the Đổi mới (renovation) period. Trường resigned as president in 1987 due to ill health and died the following year.
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