Vo Chi Cong, Vietnamese politician, President (1987–1992), died he was 99.

Võ Chí Công  was a Vietnamese Communist politician, and the President of Vietnam between 1987 and 1992 died he was 99..

(7 August 1912 – 8 September 2011)

Early life and political activities

Võ Chí Công was born as Võ Toàn in Quảng Nam, French Indochina in 1912. He first became politically active in 1930, when he joined with Phan Bội Châu and Phan Chu Trinh, two early Vietnamese nationalists who opposed the French colonial regime. He joined the Communist Party of Indochina in 1935,^[2] and fought with the Vietnamese resistance against the Vichy French during World War II. He was arrested for his resistance activities in 1942.^{[citation needed]}

Vietcong founding member

After the war, Công faded into obscurity for a time, before becoming a founding member and Deputy Chairman of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (Vietcong) in 1961. He later became Deputy Secretary of the Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN), and was a key figure in the South Vietnamese communist party during the Vietnam War. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, Công was awarded a seat on the national Politburo.^{[citation needed]}

Cabinet career and presidency

As a Politburo member, Công served in various cabinet posts, including Minister of Fisheries (1976-77), Minister of Agriculture (1977-78), and Deputy Prime Minister (1976-82), before becoming the Chairman of the Council of State of Vietnam (the contemporary equivalent of the President of Vietnam) in 1987. After his presidential term ended in 1992, Công became an advisor to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, until this advisory position was abolished in 1997.

Death

Võ Chí Công died in Hồ Chí Minh City on 8 September 2011, aged 99. The Vietnamese government granted him a televised state funeral in recognition of his long political career.^[3]


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