Party and State leaders officiated a celebration of the 100th birth anniversary (July 1) of the late Party chief Nguyen Van Linh in his hometown, the northern province of Hung Yen, on June 30.

The commemorative ceremony began with a string of musical performances in honour of his life and revolutionary career.

In his opening address, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong portrayed the late leader as a bright student of President Ho Chi Minh; a staunch communist soldier; a reputable leader of the Party, State and people; and a trustworthy friend.

Nguyen Van Linh, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 1986-1991, was born as Nguyen Van Cuc on July 1, 1915 into a civil servant family in Hanoi.

A year after joining the patriotic movement at the age of 14, he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment by the French colonialists. He then was jailed on Con Dao Island which was dubbed “hell on earth” until 1936 when election of the Popular Front in France was a success.

After his release, Linh returned to become Secretary of the Party Committee of Hai Phong City. In early 1939, he was sent to Sai Gon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and became Vice Secretary of the Sai Gon Party Committee. Later the same year, he was assigned to the central region with the mission to restore Party organisations there. He was once again arrested and imprisoned in Con Dao by the French colonial regime in early 1941.

With the success of the August Revolution in 1945, Nguyen Van Linh was, for a second time, set free and returned to Nam Bo (Southern region) where he continued to fight for the liberation of the South and national reunification in his capacity as Secretary of the Sai Gon-Cho Lon municipal Party Committee, Secretary of the Sai Gon-Cho Lon Special Zone Party Committee and Secretary of the Nam Bo Party Committee.

Following national reunification, Nguyen Van Linh served as Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. He was elected Party General Secretary at the sixth National Party Congress in December 1986, and became the first Party leader to lead and organise the execution of the Party resolution on “ Doi Moi ” (renewal), which marked a historic turning point in Vietnam’s revolutionary cause.

Nguyen Van Linh initiated and pursued the principles of Doi Moi while keeping to the socialist orientation, maintaining and promoting the Party’s leadership and respecting and bringing into full play the people’s right to mastery as reflected in the motto “people know, people discuss, people do and people inspect.”

The Doi Moi process has since brought about significant successes, laying firm foundations for the country to accelerate in the next era.

Linh and the Party Central Committee also devoted great efforts to cleaning up Party and State mechanisms, creating a flow of fresh air to society. His column “Things to be done immediately” on Nhan Dan newspaper won public approval for attacking negative phenomena in the community and creating an open and democratic social atmosphere.

During the ceremony, Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong pledged to push comprehensive country reform forward, build a strong and transparent Party closely attached to the people, prepare for the all-level Party Congresses and the 12 th National Party Congress and fuel a prosperous, democratic, equitable and civilised country on way towards socialism.

Speaking to the event, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Thong recalled Linh’s advice to the Party Committee and locals which brought Hung Yen economic growth of over 10 percent since 1997, a province which contributed nearly 7.3 trillion VND (347.6 million USD) to the State budget last year.

In the morning of the same day, a delegation of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the Government, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Hung Yen authorities laid a wreath at a memorial dedicated to the late Party chief at the Central Square.

VNA