Võ Chí Công (born Võ Toàn; 7 August 1912 – 8 September 2011) was a Vietnamese

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician, and the Chairman of the Council of State of Vietnam (Alternatively: President of Vietnam) between 1987 and 1992. He was the Standing Deputy Chairman of the

National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

from 1962 to 1976.

Early life and political activities

Võ Chí Công was born Võ Toàn in Quảng Nam, French Indochina, in 1912. Võ Chí Công’s father was Võ Nghiệm a patriot who later became a communist party member and a secretary, who was condemned as a martyr by the Vietnamese government. His mother Nguyễn Thị Thân was later conferred the Vietnamese title as Vietnamese heroic mother. Công was educated in patriotic spirit and influenced by many land magnates such as

Hoàng Diệu Hoàng Diệu ( chữ Hán: 黃耀, 14 March 1829 – 25 April 1882), born Hoàng Kim Tích (黃金錫), courtesy name Quang Viễn, was a Nguyễn dynasty Governor-general of Hà - Ninh, who suicided after failure in protecting Hà Nội ...

Trần Quý Cáp Trần Quý Cáp (chữ Hán: 陳季恰, 1870–1908), born Trần Nghị, courtesy name Dã Hàng, Thích Phu, pen name Thai Xuyên, was a Vietnamese notable poet and anti-colonialist. He was one among several leading scholars in the including ...

Phan Châu Trinh Phan Châu Trinh ( Chữ Hán: 潘周楨, 9 September 1872 – 24 March 1926), courtesy name Tử Cán (梓幹), pen name Tây Hồ (西湖) or Hi Mã (希馬), was an early 20th-century Vietnamese nationalist. He sought to end France's colonial ...

, and

Huỳnh Thúc Kháng Huỳnh Thúc Kháng ( chữ Hán: ; 1 October 1876 – 21 April 1947), also known as Cụ Huỳnh (lit: 'Great-grandfather' Huỳnh), was a Vietnamese anti-colonial activist, statesman and journalist, most notably serving as Acting President of ...

. He first became politically active in 1930, when he joined with

Phan Bội Châu Phan Bội Châu (; 26 December 1867 – 29 October 1940), born Phan Văn San, courtesy name Hải Thụ (later changed to Sào Nam), was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called ' ...

and

Phan Chu Trinh Phan Châu Trinh (Chữ Hán: 潘周楨, 9 September 1872 – 24 March 1926), courtesy name Tử Cán (梓幹), pen name Tây Hồ (西湖) or Hi Mã (希馬), was an early 20th-century Vietnamese nationalist. He sought to end France's colonial oc ...

, two early Vietnamese nationalists who opposed the

French colonial regime The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colony, colonies, protectorates and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First F ...

. He joined the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...

led by

Hồ Chí Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), ('Father of the Nation, Old father of the people') and by other Pseudonym, aliases, was a Vietnamese people, Vietnam ...

in 1935, and fought with the Vietnamese resistance against the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

during World War II.

Leadership movement in Central Vietnam

In October 1941, Võ Chí Công was assigned to the newly re-established Central Party Committee, which was assigned to charge the provinces from

Đà Nẵng Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...

to Phú Yên. In early 1942, the French colonial government terrorized the revolutionary movement in the central provinces, many Central Party officials and provinces were arrested, some temporarily moved the area to contact the higher authorities. Võ Chí Công himself had to stay in the southernmost provinces of Central Vietnam, then proceeded to Đà Lạt to build the base. In June 1942, Secretary of the Quảng Nam Party Committee Trương Hoàn was arrested, sentenced to 20 years in prison by the colonial government, sent to Buôn Ma Thuột. In August 1942, Quảng Nam - Hội An - Đà Nẵng Provincial Party Committee was established by Võ Chí Công and after January 16, 1943 the three parties merged into The Quảng Nam Party. Võ Chí Công was elected as the Party Secretary of the new Quảng Nam Party. In October 1943, due to the betrayal of a provincial commissioner named Cao Tiến Khai, Võ Chí Công and a number of provincial officials, Nguyễn Sắc Kim and Lê Bá were arrested by the French colonial government. Công was sentenced to life imprisonment, then reduced to 25 years imprisonment in

Hội An Hội An (), formerly known as Fai-Fo or Faifoo, is a city with a population of approximately 120,000 in Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province and is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Along with the Cu Lao Cham archipelago, it is part o ...

laboratories, then transferred to exile in Buôn Ma Thuột. On 9 March 1945,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

overtook France Indochina. For the demobilization of the Vietnamese in support of Japanese rule, the Japanese military released many political prisoners, including Võ Chí Công. After his release, Công returned to Quảng Nam, assigned to the National Salvation Department of the Việt Minh in Quảng Nam Province, as leader of the Uprising, preparing to destroy the french government. As a result of his efforts and his comrades, as well as the quick initiative, the uprising took place in Quảng Nam, starting with Hội An, which took place on August 17, 1945. Quang Nam became one of four provinces to win The earliest government in the country. After the successful August Revolution, Công was appointed Chief Justice of Quảng Nam - Đà Nẵng.

Vietcong founding member

After the First Indochina War, Công as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of 5th Region (and elected is member of Central Committee Party in 1960), before becoming a founding member and Deputy Chairman of the

(Vietcong) in 1961. He later became Deputy Secretary of the

Central Office for South Vietnam Central Office for South Vietnam (abbreviated COSVN ; vi, Văn phòng Trung ương Cục miền Nam), officially known as the Central Executive Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party from 1962 until its dissolution in 1976, was the Ameri ...

(COSVN), and was a key figure in the

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in South Vietnam during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1976, Công was awarded a seat on the national

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

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 The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, lit=Chairman of the nation of Socialist Republic of Vietnam) is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the Vietnam Nat ...

) in 1987. After his presidential term ended in 1992, Công became an advisor to 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'') is the highest decision-making body of the party between convocations of the National Congress. History The C ...

, until this advisory position was abolished in 1997.

Death

Võ Chí Công died in

Hồ Chí Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

on 8 September 2011, aged 99. The

granted him a televised

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

in recognition of his long political career.Former State leader dies at ninety nine
. ''Viet Nam News''. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vo, Chi Cong 1912 births 2011 deaths People from Quảng Nam province Presidents of Vietnam Members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Deputy Prime Ministers of Vietnam Government ministers of Vietnam Vietnamese nationalists Vietnamese revolutionaries