Trần Quốc Hoàn (23 January 1916 – 5 September 1986) was the first Minister of Public Security of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

and the longest serving. He served in that role from 1952 through unification to 1981. He laid the foundation for structure of Vietnam's security services. He was a member of the Polit Buro from 1972 until 1980.

Early life

He was born as Nguyễn Trọng Cảnh on 23 January 1916, in Nam Trung village,

Nam Đàn District Nam, Nam, or The Nam are shortened terms for: * Vietnam, which is also spelled ''Viet Nam'' * The Vietnam War Nam, The Nam or NAM may also refer to: Arts and media * Nam, a fictional character in anime series ''Dragon Ball'' * ''NAM'' (video ...

, Nghệ An Province. He participated in the 1930 uprising, and joined the Indochina Communist party in March 1934. During the late 1930s he was involved with the student movement in

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

and

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

, as well as various youth organizations. He joined the Indochina Democratic Front (''Mặt trận Thống nhất Dân chủ Đông Dương'') and was Secretary of the Committee (1937–1939). In May 1940, he was arrested and sent to the prison at

Sơn La Sơn La (; Tai Dam: ) is a city in the north-west region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Sơn La Province. It is bordered by Thuận Châu District, Mường La District, and Mai Sơn District. History In the era of the Sip Song Chau Tai, S ...

. Released in May 1945, he continued his revolutionary activities, becoming Party Secretary for

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

. In 1951 he was elected to the Party Central Committee and made Deputy Minister of police. On 2 May 1952 he became Director General of Public Security of Vietnam, and the following year the agency's name was changed to Ministry of Security (''Bộ Công an'') with Trần Quốc Hoàn at its head.

Minister of Security

Trần was known as the Beria of Vietnam, in reference to

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolsheviks ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's notorious

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...

chief.

Honors

A street in the Cầu Giấy District of Hanoi is named after Trần Quốc Hoàn.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Quoc Hoan Alternates of the 3rd Politburo of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Politburo of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam 1916 births 1986 deaths