Võ Thị Thắng (10 December 1945 – 22 August 2014) was a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

and stateswoman. She was a member of the Long An delegation to the

National Assembly of Vietnam The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (N.A.; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of governmen ...

during its fourth, fifth, and sixth sessions (1975 to 1981). She later served as a member of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( Vietnamese: ''Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam''), commonly the Party Central Committee (PCC; - or ), is the highest organ between two national congresses ...

during its eighth and ninth congresses (1996 to 2006), the Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Chairwoman of the Vietnam–Cuba Friendship Association, and the Vice President of the

Vietnam Women's Union The Vietnam Women's Union (, VWU) in Vietnamese, is a socio-political organization that represents and defends the legal and legitimate rights and interests of Women in Vietnam. Originally founded on October 20, 1930, there are currently over 13 m ...

. Outside of Vietnam, she is most well known for a photograph of her smiling at her sentencing for an attempted assassination during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The photograph is popularly known as the "Smile of Victory" and has become a symbol of Vietnamese women who fought in the war.

Early life

Võ Thị Thắng was born on 10 December 1945 in what is now Tân Bửu Commune, Bến Lức District, Long An Province, Vietnam. She was the youngest of eight siblings, and her family members were supporters of the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

ese government. At the age of 16, Thắng joined the underground

National Liberation Front of South Vietnam The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the Communism, communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vi ...

(NLF). When she was 17, she moved to Saigon (present-day

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

) and joined the local branches of the

Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (, Đoàn TNCS), simply recognized as the Union (), is the largest socio-political organisation of Vietnamese youth. The union is under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The organization was ...

and Vietnamese Students' Association, which were banned under the South Vietnamese government.

Vietnam War

In July 1968, during the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on 30 January 1968 against the forces of ...

of the

, the NLF tasked Thắng with assassinating a suspected spy in Saigon. After failing to kill her target, she was arrested by the South Vietnamese authorities and sentenced by a military court to 20 years of

hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

Côn Đảo Prison Côn Đảo Prison (), also Côn Sơn Prison, is a prison on Côn Sơn Island (also known as Côn Lôn), the largest island of the Côn Đảo archipelago in southern Vietnam (today it is in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province). The prison was buil ...

. Upon receiving her sentence, Thắng faced the jury and retorted, "Will your government last long enough to imprison me for 20 years?" A photograph of Thắng smiling, taken by a Japanese reporter at her sentencing, became popularly known as the "Smile of Victory", a symbol of Vietnamese women who fought in the Vietnam War. Thắng was released on 7 March 1974 under the

Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords (), officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (), was a peace agreement signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. It took effect at 8:00 the follo ...

, having served less than six years of her sentence.

Later life

After the end of the Vietnam War and the reunification of Vietnam on 30 April 1975, Thắng retired from the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

and continued her work with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. The Vietnamese government later appointed her standing vice president of the

. She was elected to the fourth (1971–1975), fifth (1975–1976), and sixth (1976–1981) sessions of the

as a representative of Long An Province, as well as to the eighth and ninth congresses of the

. She also served as the Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Chairwoman of the Vietnam–Cuba Friendship Association. Thắng retired in 2007 and died on 22 August 2014.

Honours

Thắng was posthumously conferred the title

Hero of the People's Armed Forces The Hero of the People's Armed Forces () is an honorary designation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Criteria The title (and medal) of Hero of the People's Armed Force is awarded to individuals with "exceptionally outstanding achievements ...

by Vietnamese president

Trương Tấn Sang Trương Tấn Sang (; born 21 January 1949) is a Vietnamese politician, who served as the eighth President of Vietnam from 2011 to 2016. He was one of Vietnam's top leaders, alongside prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and Party general secr ...

on 20 August 2015. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the award ceremony on 10 September 2015, at the

Caravelle Hotel The Caravelle Hotel Saigon is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The hotel was opened to the public on Christmas Eve 1959, when the city was known as Saigon. It was named after the Sud Aviation Caravelle, a jet airliner operated by the hotel' ...

in Ho Chi Minh City. A primary school in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, is named after her.

Awards

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vo, Thi Thang 1945 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Vietnamese women politicians Failed assassins Female assassins Female child soldiers Female guerrillas Female prisoners and detainees Female wartime spies Hero of the People's Armed Forces Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 9th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the National Assembly (Vietnam) People convicted of attempted murder People from Long An province Prisoners and detainees of Vietnam South Vietnamese prisoners and detainees Viet Cong members Vietnam War prisoners of war Vietnamese female criminals Vietnamese spies in the Vietnam War Women in the Vietnam War