Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong died days after his resignation, – WP

Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong died a few days after his resignation, – WP Vladislav Kravtsov

Nguyen Phu Trong died at the age of 80/Collage 24 Channel (photo by Getty Images and from open sources)

In Vietnam, communist leader Nguyen Phu Trong died on July 19. He led the country for about 14 years.

Journalists from The Washington Post noted that the death of the Vietnamese leader occurred several days after Trong stepped down from his duties as leader of the country's Communist Party due to poor health.

What distinguished the leader of Vietnam in his life

Journalists said that Nguyen Phu Trong, a longtime ideologist of the Communist Party of Vietnam, came to power in 2011 year, and subsequently consolidated control in the one-party state through purges of corruption and political repression that imprisoned journalists and activists. Trong was 80 years old at the time of his death.

On the world stage, the leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party was considered a deft practitioner of “bamboo diplomacy,” so called for bending in different directions as the country forged ties with its most important economic partners, China and the United States, and also built ties with countries such as India and Russia.

At the same time, Mr Chong increased government control over other freedoms. He oversaw the Communist Party's harsh directives aimed at the media, civil society groups, and domestic political challenges.

Since the Vietnam War, the political leadership of the country (then North Vietnam) has evolved as a collective a system consisting of the General Secretary of the Communist Party, the President, the Prime Minister and a high-ranking member of the National Assembly. Mr. Chong asserted his influence in a way rarely seen.

Human rights group Project 88 estimates that nearly 200 people have been jailed for political reasons during Mr Chong's rule, including environmental activists, journalists and trade unionists. Mr. Trong's one-party state has also successfully pressured tech companies such as Meta to remove criticism of party leaders from their platforms.

Still, for many in Vietnam, success Mr. Chong's foreign policy and anti-corruption campaigns are viewed favorably as central elements of his legacy, said Khanh Vu, a scholar of Vietnam affairs at Boston College. party was occupied by Vietnamese President To Lam.

What is the biography of the Vietnamese leader

Nguyen Phu Trong was born on April 14, 1944 in a rural area outside of Hanoi. His official government biography describes his early years as “poor peasants.”

In 1967, he received a degree in linguistics from the Vietnam National University in Hanoi and then applied for membership in the Communist Party. He was recruited into the Party in 1968 as the Vietnam War escalated.

Over the next three decades, he served in various positions related to the implementation and interpretation of Communist Party doctrine, in including editor of the leading party mouthpiece “Communist Review” from 1991 to 1996. He had previously been sent to study in Moscow, where he received a doctorate in history from the Academy of Sciences in 1983.

He was groomed for leadership after he became part of the Politburo in 1997, and served as chairman of the National Assembly from 2006 to 2011.

Chong has tried to avoid friction with Beijing while highlighting his efforts to strengthen ties with the United States. A Vietnamese politician has called for dialogue on the South China Sea, which Beijing considers its territory but is seen by Washington as part of China's efforts to expand its military influence in the region.

Then, within four months in 2015, Chong made official visits to China and the United States, where he met with President Barack Obama for talks that included expanding economic cooperation.

In further diplomatic battles between East and West Chong hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024 to demonstrate Vietnam's efforts to take a “neutral position regarding the war in Ukraine.”

Mr. Chong was married to Ngo Thi Manh, they had two children. Now the further fate of the family of the deceased Vietnamese leader is unknown.