He held the highest positions of the communist government. He had lung and kidney problems and could not talk in the last few months. He was arrested by the French colonial government in 1941 and sentenced to 10 years in prison; he escaped from prison before the 1945 uprising, when President Ho Chi Minh declared independence.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The government has announced that the former general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Do Muoi (photo) died at the age of 101. Despite the efforts of Vietnamese and foreign doctors to treat him, Muoi died last night at the 108 National Military Hospital after having fought a serious illness.
The former general secretary had been admitted to the hospital almost six months ago, after having had fever and difficulty breathing. Muoi had lung and kidney problems and could not talk in the last few months. Born Nguyen Duy Cong in the suburban district of Thanh Tri in Hanoi in 1917, he participated in the anti-French movement in 1936 and joined the Communist Party of Indochina three years later.
He was arrested by the French colonial government in 1941 and sentenced to 10 years in prison; He escaped from prison before the 1945 uprising, when President Ho Chi Minh declared independence from France. Muoi climbed the ranks of the party and the government; he was elected to the Politburo in 1982 and appointed Prime Minister in 1988.
He held the highest office in the Party for more than six years, before resigning in 1997. He had a great influence to push the country to economic reforms, but remained firm on the openness to individual liberties.
Muoi will be honored with a state funeral. The ceremony is reserved for those who held the posts of secretary general, president, prime minister, president of the national assembly or senior officials appointed by the Politburo. Former Vietnamese president Trần Đại Quang, who died on 21 September, was remembered with a state funeral and a two-day national mourning.