VÕ VĂN KIỆT * WIKIPEDIA

Võ Văn Kiệt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%B5_V%C4%83n_Ki%E1%BB%87t

In this Vietnamese name, the family name is Võ, but is often simplified to Vo in English-language text. According to Vietnamese custom, this person should properly be referred to by the given name Kiệt.
Võ Văn Kiệt

3rd & 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (acting)
In officeMarch 10, 1988- June 22, 1988 – August 8, 1991 - September 24, 1992
Preceded by
Phạm Hùng
Succeeded by
Đỗ Mười
6th Prime Minister of Vietnam
In officeSeptember 24, 1992 – September 25, 1997
Preceded by
Đỗ Mười
Succeeded by
Phan Văn Khải
Born
November 23, 1922Trung Hiep,Cochinchina, French Indochina
Died
June 11, 2008 (aged 85)Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore
Political party
Communist Party of Vietnam
Spouse
Phan Lương Cầm
Võ Văn Kiệt (23 November 1922 - 11 June 2008[1]) was a Vietnamese politician and statesman. He was Prime Minister of Vietnam from 8 August 1991 to 25 September 1997. He was one of the Vietnamese political leaders that led the innovation (Đổi mới) policy in Vietnam. His birth name was Phan Văn Hòa and he changed it to Võ Văn Kiệt when he joined the Indochinese Communist Party. He also had a pseudonym, Sáu Dân.
Kiệt was born into a peasant family in Trung Hiệp village, Vũng Liêm district, Vĩnh Long province in southern Vietnam, then a part of Cochinchina in what was called French Indochina. He was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party in 1939. He joined the Anti-imperialist Youth Movement and took part in the Nam Kỳ (Cochinchina) insurrection in Vũng Liêm district.
As a member of the communist-led Viet Minh independence movement, Kiệt fought the French in the First Indochina War (1946-1954) in Southern Vietnam and went North following the division of the country according to the Geneva Accords of 1954. In 1960, he was elected alternate member of the Communist Party Central Committee and became a full member in 1972. In 1976, following the reunification of the country, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and he returned to Southern Vietnam to assume the position of Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hồ Chí Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). Soon after, he was elected alternate member of the Politburo of the CPV and made Secretary of the Party Committee of Hồ Chí Minh City.
Kiệt's first wife and his two children were killed by a bombing of US forces during the Vietnam War.
In 1982, he was promoted to Vice-premiership and became Chairman of the State Planning Commission. In 1987, he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam and became acting Prime Minister from March to June 1988 after the sudden death of Phạm Hùng[2].
In December 1997, Kiệt had received the Sao Vàng (Gold Star) Order[3], the State’s highest distinction, for his immense contributions to the Vietnamese revolution.
Contents[hide]
1 Final days
2 Famous quotes
3 References
4 External links
//

[edit] Final days
After retiring from politics, Kiệt lived in Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, he had spoken out on many issues, and was seen as a defender of people's rights.[4]
Võ Văn Kiệt was the highest-ranking former government official to have openly spoken out about reconciliation with Vietnamese exiles and democracy activists.[5] Recently, he had spoken out against the proposed expansion of Hanoi[6] [7] and the demolition of the historic National Assembly building in Ba Đình Square to make place for a new one.[8]
Kiệt was admitted to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital on June 3, 2008 with unspecified ailments and died early Wednesday.[9]
State media did not announce his death until the night of June 12, after most foreign news agencies had already reported it and many foreign dignitaries had already offered condolences, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon[10]. The government of Vietnam announced a state funeral on June 14 and 15 to be held in the Reunification Palace (Ho Chi Minh City), Hanoi, and his birth province Vĩnh Long[11].

[edit] Famous quotes
“
The motherland belongs to us, the nation belongs to us, the state belongs to us, Vietnam belongs to us, not to communists or any religious group or faction.[12]
”
“
When mentioning the [Vietnam] war, a million people feel happy but another million feel miserable.
”

[edit] References
^ "Ex-Vietnam premier Vo Van Kiet dies at 85: government", AFP, June 11, 2008.
^ "Khi Chủ tịch Hội đồng Bộ trưởng Phạm Hùng "chơi chữ"", VietBao.vn, October 18, 2006.
^ Tổ chức Quốc tang nguyên Thủ tướng Võ Văn Kiệt, VietBao.vn, June 12, 2008.
^ Đổi mới không phải là xóa bỏ hoàn toàn cái cũ hay từ bỏ chủ nghĩa xã hội mà là nhận thức lại một cách đúng đắn hơn về một chủ nghĩa xã hội nhân bản, hoàn thiện, với lý tưởng phục vụ con người, vì con người.
^ Nga Pham (2008-06-11). "Obituary: Vo Van Kiet". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7449094.stm. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
^ Võ Văn Kiệt, Mở rộng Hà Nội: Không thể chỉ là một ý tưởng cảm tính, Tuổi trẻ newspaper, May 5, 2008
^ Võ Văn Kiệt: Không được phép đưa thủ đô làm nơi thí nghiệm.
^ Cựu Thủ tướng Võ Văn Kiệt lên tiếng về việc xây nhà Quốc hội mới.
^ Vietnam reformist ex-premier Vo Van Kiet dies at 85.
^ BBC Vietnamese (2008-06-12). "Báo VN đợi đưa tin về ông Võ Văn Kiệt". http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2008/06/080612_media_vvkiet.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
^ Thông cáo đặc biệt June 12, 2008 of Communist Party of Vietnam
^ BBC phiên bản Việt ngữ (2008-06-11). "Cựu thủ tướng Võ Văn Kiệt qua đời". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2008/06/080611_vovankiet_dies.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.

[edit] External links