Infobox_Prime Minister
name = Võ Văn Kiệt
imagesize = 150px
order = 3rd & 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (acting)
term_start = March 10, 1988- June 22, 1988
term_end =
August 8, 1991 - September 24, 1992
deputy =
predecessor = Phạm Hùng
successor = Đỗ Mười
constituency =
order2 = 6th Prime Minister of Vietnam
term_start2 = September 24, 1992
term_end2 = September 25, 1997
predecessor2 = Đỗ Mười
successor2 = Phan Văn Khải
birth_date = November 23, 1922
birth_place = Trung Hiep,
Cochinchina, French Indochina
death_date = death date and age|2008|6|11|1922|11|23
death_place = Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore
spouse = Phan Lương Cầm
party = Communist Party of Vietnam
Võ Văn Kiệt (23 November 1922 - 11 June 2008[ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hyKl-byiN6Ukwqp0CbDW_JZgmmXA "Ex-Vietnam premier Vo Van Kiet dies at 85: government"] , AFP, June 11, 2008.] ) 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 innnovation (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[ [http://vietbao.vn/Xa-hoi/Ky-13-Khi-Chu-tich-Hoi-dong-Bo-truong-Pham-Hung-choi-chu/45212075/157/ "Khi Chủ tịch Hội đồng Bộ trưởng Phạm Hùng "chơi chữ""] , VietBao.vn, October 18, 2006.] .]In December 1997, Kiệt had received the Sao Vàng (Gold Star) Order[ [http://vietbao.vn/Xa-hoi/To-chuc-Quoc-tang-nguyen-Thu-tuong-Vo-Van-Kiet/11061773/157/ Tổ chức Quốc tang nguyên Thủ tướng Võ Văn Kiệt] , VietBao.vn, June 12, 2008.] , the State’s highest distinction, for his immense contributions to the Vietnamese revolution.]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. [ [http://www.vietnamnet.vn/chinhtri/2008/06/787871/ 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.] ]
Võ Văn Kiệt was the highest-ranking former government official to have openly spoken out about reconciliation with Vietnamese exiles and democracy activists. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7449094.stm|title=Obituary: Vo Van Kiet|author=Nga Pham|publisher=BBC News|date=2008-06-11|accessdate=2008-06-13] Recently, he had spoken out against the proposed expansion of Hanoi [Võ Văn Kiệt, [http://diaoc.tuoitre.com.vn/Tianyon/Index.aspx?ArticleID=255938&ChannelID=450 Mở rộng Hà Nội: Không thể chỉ là một ý tưởng cảm tính] , "Tuổi trẻ" newspaper, May 5, 2008] [ [http://www.vnexpress.net/GL/Xa-hoi/2008/05/3BA01E27/ Võ Văn Kiệt: Không được phép đưa thủ đô làm nơi thí nghiệm.] ] and the demolition of the historic National Assembly building in Ba Đình Square to make place for a new one. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2007/10/071004_vovankietnhaquochoi.shtml Cựu Thủ tướng Võ Văn Kiệt lên tiếng về việc xây nhà Quốc hội mới.] ]
Kiệt died early on 11 June 2008[ at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore after two weeks fighting against pneumonia.]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 [cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2008/06/080612_media_vvkiet.shtml|title=Báo VN đợi đưa tin về ông Võ Văn Kiệt|author=BBC Vietnamese|date=2008-06-12|accessdate=2008-06-13] . 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 [ [http://dangcongsan.vn/tiengviet/thoisu/details.asp?topic=1&subtopic=104&leader_topic=174&id=BT1460838296 Thông cáo đặc biệt] June 12, 2008 of Communist Party of Vietnam] .
Famous quotes
References
External links
* [http://tim.vietbao.vn/Võ_Văn_Kiệt/ A collection of articles about Vo Van Kiet] (in Vietnamese)
* [http://beta.baomoi.com/Tag/Võ+Văn+Kiệt.epi Lastest news about Vo Van Kiet, aggregate from most popular online news source in Vietnam] (in Vietnamese)
* [http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/asia/obits.php International Herald Tribune: Vo Van Kiet, who led Vietnam to freer markets, dead at 85]
