Former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1907–1986)
Lê Duẩn (; 7 April 1907 – 10 July 1986) was a Vietnamese communist politician. He rose in the party hierarchy in the late 1950s and became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (VCP) at the 3rd National Congress in 1960. When Ho Chi Minh died in 1969, he consolidated power to become the undisputed leader of North Vietnam. Upon defeating South Vietnam in the Second Indochina War in 1975, he subsequently ruled the newly unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1976 until his death in 1986. 
He was born into a lower-class family in Quảng Trị Province, in the Annam Protectorate of French Indochina as Lê Văn Nhuận. Little is known about his family and childhood. He first came in contact with revolutionary thoughts in the 1920s through his work as a railway clerk. Lê Duẩn was a founding member of the Indochina Communist Party (the future Communist Party of Vietnam) in 1930. He was imprisoned in 1931 and released in 1937. From 1937 to 1939, he climbed the party ladder. He was rearrested in 1939, this time for fomenting an uprising in the South. Lê Duẩn was released from jail following the successful Communist-led August Revolution of 1945.
During the First Indochina War (1946-1954), Lê Duẩn was an active revolutionary leader in South Vietnam. He headed the Central Office of South Vietnam, a Party organ, from 1951 until 1954. During the 1950s Lê Duẩn became increasingly aggressive towards South Vietnam and called for reunification through war. By the mid-to-late 1950s Lê Duẩn had become the second-most powerful policy-maker within the Party, eclipsing former party First Secretary Trường Chinh. By 1960 he was officially the second-most powerful Party member, after Party chairman Hồ. Throughout the 1960s, Hồ's health declined and Lê Duẩn assumed more of his responsibilities. 
Following Hồ's death in 1969, Lê Duẩn assumed leadership of North Vietnam. Throughout the Second Indochina War (1955–1975), he adopted an aggressive posture, prioritizing the use of large-scale attacks in order to achieve victory. When South Vietnam was reunited with North Vietnam in 1976, he assumed the new title of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Later in December 1978, Lê Duẩn oversaw the Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia which ultimately led to the fall of the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge on 7 January 1979. This had a serious impact on relations between Vietnam and China, with Vietnam responding with a period of deportation of ethnic Chinese Hoa people. China carried out an invasion on the Vietnamese northern border which was to be known as the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979, though was short-lived and remained inconclusive. From then on, Vietnam maintained a closer alliance with the Soviet Union and joined Comecon in 1978. 
Lê remained General Secretary until his death in 1986. He died in Hanoi; his successor was initially Trường Chinh. Lê Duẩn was also known as Lê Dung, and was known in public as "anh Ba" (third brother).
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Early life and career.
Lê Duẩn was born as Lê Văn Nhuận in "Bich La" village, "Triệu Đông", Triệu Phong, Quảng Trị Province on 7 April 1907 (although some sources cite 1908) to a poor family with 5 children. Locals from his generation say that Duan's parents were metal scrap collectors and blacksmiths. The son of a railway clerk, he became active in revolutionary politics as a young man. He received a French colonial education before working as a clerk for the Vietnam Railway Company in Hanoi during the 1920s. Through his job, he came into contact with several communist activists. In this period, he educated himself to a Marxist.
Lê Duẩn became a member of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League in 1928. He cofounded the Indochina Communist Party in 1930. Lê Duẩn was imprisoned the next year. He was released six years later, in 1937. From 1937 to 1939 he advanced in the party hierarchy and at the "2nd National Congress", he joined its Central Committee. He was imprisoned again the following year for fomenting an uprising. After five years he was released, shortly after the 1945 August Revolution, in which the Indochinese Communist Party took power. Following his release, he became a trusted associate of Hồ Chí Minh, the lead figure of the party.
During the First Indochina War Lê Duẩn served as the "Secretary of the Regional Committee of South Vietnam", at first in Cochinchina in 1946, but was reassigned to head the Central Office of South Vietnam from 1951 until 1954. The Viet Minh's position in the South became increasingly tenuous by the early to mid-1950s and in 1953 Lê Duẩn was replaced by his deputy Lê Đức Thọ and moved to North Vietnam.
The "Road to the South".
In the aftermath of the 1954 Geneva Accords, which indirectly split Vietnam into North and South, Lê Duẩn was responsible for reorganising the combatants who had fought in South and Central Vietnam. In 1956, he wrote "The Road to the South", calling for revolution to achieve reunification. His thesis became the blueprint for action at the "11th Central Committee Plenum" in 1956. Although "The Road to the South" was formally accepted, its implementation waited until 1959.
In 1956 Lê Duẩn was appointed to the secretariat of the party. He was ordered by the Politburo in August 1956 to guide the revolutionary struggle in South Vietnam. The same month he traveled from U Minh to Bến Tre and instructed the southern communists to stop fighting in the name of religious sects. Throughout the year, the party had been split by factional rivalry between party boss Trường Chinh and President Hồ, who was supported by Võ Nguyên Giáp. This rivalry focused on the issue of land reform in the North. Lê Duẩn remained neutral, allowing him to act as the First Secretary (head of the Communist Party) on Hồ's behalf in late 1956. In 1957, he was given a seat in the Politburo.
At the 1957 May Day parade, Trường Chinh was still seated as the country's second most powerful figure. Lê Duẩn was gradually able to place his supporters, notably Lê Ðức Thọ, in top positions and outmaneuver his rivals. He visited Moscow in November 1957 and received approval for his war plans. In December 1957, Hồ told the 13th Plenary Session of a "dual revolution"; Trường Chinh became responsible for the socialist transformation of the north, while Lê Duẩn focused on planning the offensive in the south.
By 1958, Lê Duẩn ranked second only to Hồ in the party hierarchy, although Trường Chinh remained powerful. Lê Duẩn was a party man and never held a post in the government. He made a brief, secret visit to South Vietnam in 1958, writing a report, "The Path to Revolution in the South", in which he stated that the North Vietnamese had to do more to assist the southern fighters. The Central Committee decided to initiate the revolution in January 1959.
First Secretary.
Lê Duẩn was informally chosen as the First Secretary of the party by Hồ in 1959, at the January plenum of the Central Committee and was elected to the post "de jure" at the "3rd National Congress". According to Bùi Tín he was not Hồ's original choice for the post; his preferred candidate was Võ Nguyên Giáp, but since Lê Duẩn was supported by the influential Lê Đức Thọ, the "Head of the Party Organisational Department," Lê Duẩn was picked for the post. He was considered a safe choice because of his time in prison during the French rule, his thesis "The Road to the South" and his strong belief in Vietnamese reunification. Hoàng Văn Hoan claimed, after being sent into exile, that the Congress also purged several party members. Indeed, three former ambassadors lost their Central Committee seats.
General Secretary leadership.
Political infighting and power.
Lê Duẩn was officially named First Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1960, thereby succeeding Hồ as the party's de facto leader even though the latter remained its chairman. However, Hồ continued to influence North Vietnam's governance: Lê Duẩn, Tố Hữu, Trường Chinh and Phạm Văn Đồng (all of whom were influential figures in the country's politics during and after the war) often shared dinner with him. In 1963, Hồ purportedly corresponded with South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm in the hope of achieving a negotiated peace. Together with Lê Đức Thọ, "Head of the Party Organisational Department" and Nguyễn Chí Thanh, a military general, Lê Duẩn tried to monopolise the decision-making process – this became even more evident following Hồ's death. In 1964, Hồ's health began to fail and Lê Duẩn, as his trusted underling, more visibly took on day-to-day decision-making responsibilities. Some analysts claim that by 1965 Hồ and Lê Duẩn had split and that "for all intents and purposes" Lê Duẩn had sidelined Hồ. Lê Duẩn, Lê Đức Thọ and Phạm Hùng "progressively tried to neutralise Hồ Chí Minh" and Phạm Văn Đồng.
By the late-1960s, Hồ's declining health had weakened his position within the leadership. While Hồ was still consulted on important decisions, Lê Duẩn dominated the Party. When Hồ died on 2 September 1969, the collective leadership he had espoused continued, but Lê Duẩn was first among equals. The Central Committee's first resolution following Hồ's death pledged to uphold the collective leadership. Lê Duẩn chaired Hồ's funeral committee and gave the event's final speech.
From the beginning the party leadership had split into pro-Soviet, pro-Chinese and moderate factions. Under Hồ the party had followed a policy of neutrality between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China in the aftermath of the Sino–Soviet split. This policy continued until reunification. In the aftermath of the war, a power struggle began between Lê Duẩn's pro-Soviet and its rival pro-Chinese factions. Former rivals Lê Duẩn and Lê Đức Thọ formed a coalition and purged the pro-Chinese faction. Their first victims were Hoàng Văn Hoan and Chu Văn Tấn. While the Politburo made decisions through consensus, Lê Duẩn, through his post as General Secretary, was the most powerful figure and was able to increase his power via his alliance with Lê Đức Thọ, Trần Quốc Hoàn and Võ Nguyên Giáp. Together with Lê Đức Thọ, Lê Duẩn controlled personnel appointments in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Political Directorate of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), the General Logistics Department of the PAVN and the Ministry of Transport.
To strengthen their hold on power, Lê Duẩn and Lê Đức Thọ established a patronage network. For instance Lê Đức Thọ's brother, Đinh Đức Thiện was appointed Minister of Communications and Transport; in April 1982 Đồng Sĩ Nguyên, a protégé of Lê Duẩn, became Minister of Transport. Mai Chí Thọ, friend of Lê Đức Thọ, was Chairman of the People's Committee of Hồ Chí Minh City (equivalent to a mayor) from 1978 to 1985. Several of Lê Duẩn's relatives were appointed to offices in the propaganda and culture sector. However, with the exception of Mai Chí Thọ none of these figures reached the pinnacles of power in Vietnamese politics.
Vietnam War.
At the 3rd National Congress, Lê Duẩn called for the establishment of a South Vietnamese people's front. The Central Committee supported the proposal. A Central Committee resolution stated that "The common task of the Vietnamese revolution at present is to accelerate the socialist revolution in North Vietnam whilst at the same time stepping up the National People's Democratic Revolution in South Vietnam." On 20 December 1960, three months later, the Viet Cong was established. Lê Duẩn claimed that the Việt Cộng would "rally 'all patriotic forces' to overthrow the Diệm government [in the South] and thus ensure 'conditions for the peaceful reunification of the Fatherland'".
After the Sino–Soviet split, the Vietnamese Communist leadership divided into pro-China and pro-Soviet factions. From 1956 to 1963, Lê Duẩn played a moderating role between the two factions, but with the death of Diệm and the Gulf of Tonkin incident, he became considerably more radical. The Chinese continued to support them throughout the war, with Liu Shaoqi, the President of the People's Republic, in 1965 stating, "it is our policy that we will do our best to support you." Unlike Hồ, who wanted a peaceful resolution, Lê Duẩn was far more militant. He wanted,