Former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Do Muoi passed away at 11:12 pm on October 1 at the Central Military Hospital 108 in Hanoi after a long time of struggling with serious illness, Vietnam News Agency reported, citing the board for healthcare of senior officials.
Former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Do Muoi. Photo: Vietnamnet
|
It is likely that his funeral will be held with the national mourning etiquette.
This would be the third national mourning for a top-ranking Vietnamese official this year. Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai died at the age of 85 due to natural cause on March 17 at his home in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City. President Tran Dai Quang passed away on September 21, aged 61, in Hanoi when he had served haft of his presidency.
Born on February 2, 1917, in Dong My commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi, Do Muoi was involved in revolutionary activities at young age and became a member of the Communist Party in 1939. Trained and grew up through periods of resistance war, Do Muoi held many positions in northern provinces.
He was elected vice chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1981 and led this council in 1988. He was general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from June 1991 to December 1997, then stepped down to become an advisor to the Party’s Central Committee until 2001.
He was presented with an insignia of 80-year Party membership.
According to Vu Quang Minh, Vietnam’s ambassador to Cambodia, Do Muoi held the top leadership of the Party during a period when Vietnam achieved milestones and breakthroughs in foreign policy, including the entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), signing of Comprehensive Partnership Cooperation Agreement with the European Union, normalization of diplomatic ties with the United States and initiating negotiations on Bilateral Trade Agreement with the US, among others.
