Nguyen Van Linh
Encyclopedia
Nguyễn Văn Linh was a Vietnam
ese revolutionary
and politician
. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
from 1986 to 1991 and a political leader of the Vietcong during the Vietnam War
. During his time in office, Linh was a strong advocate of "doi moi" (renovation), an economic plan whose aim is to turn Vietnam economy to a market economy. As such, Linh was often touted the Vietnamese Gorbachev
after the Soviet leader, who introduced Perestroika
.
Linh was born in Hưng Yên, near Hanoi
on July 1, 1915. Though this is unconfirmed, he is likely to have come from a bourgeois family. His original name was Nguyễn Văn Cúc, he would later adopt Nguyễn Văn Linh as his nom de guerre. At age 14, Linh became involved in underground communist movement against French colonial rule
, joining the Revolutionary Youth League. In 1930 at the age of sixteen, Linh was arrested and incarcerated until 1936 for distributing leaflets directed against the French. After his release, he joined the Communist Party of Vietnam
. He was sent to Saigon, in the southern part of the country to help establish party cells, causing him to be detained again from 1941 to 1945. In 1945, Vietnam declared its independence from French rule and the First Indochina War
ensued. Meanwhile, Linh rose in the party hierarchy becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1960. During the Vietnam War
, he was the party secretary for South Vietnam
, which had seen him direct the guerrilla resistance against the American-backed government there, but most of his duties were organizational rather than military. He also specialized in propaganda, studying and attempting to influence American politics in favor of Vietnam. He trained special forces who infiltrated organizations in Saigon. In 1968, Linh directed the Tet Offensive against the Americans. This successful surprise attack throughout the country was a turning point of the Vietnam War
. After the end of the Vietnam War and the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975, Linh was inducted to the Communist Party's Politburo
and became party chief of the capital Ho Chi Minh City
. He favored a slow transformation of the formerly capitalist southern part of the country causing him to come into conflict with his party colleagues. In the late 1970s, though considered a promising party politician, he had repeated arguments with Lê Duẩn, Hồ Chí Minh
's successor as party leader, preventing him from rising further in the hierarchy. In 1982, he was even removed from the Politburo. According to his friends, Linh resigned after an argument over the future of South Vietnam, in which he defended private capital.
In the mid-1980s the Vietnamese economy experienced crisis, making a more liberal, market-based economy more of a sensible option to many politicians. This led to Linh's being re-instated in the Politburo in 1985 and even being made party general secretary the following year. Immediately, he started reforming Vietnam's economy. Renouncing the ideological decisions that he claimed had caused the problems, he allowed private enterprise and market price
s and disbanded agricultural collectives. This change in policy was dubbed doi moi, a Vietnamese term meaning innovation. In the political sphere, Linh tried to improve relations
with both the United States
and China
. In 1990, he secretly visited China, becoming the first Vietnamese leader to do so since the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War
. In 1989, he ordered the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia, where they had been sent to remove Pol Pot
's Khmer Rouge
regime. However, as far as domestic policy is concerned, Linh felt there was little need for change. "It is not objectively necessary to establish a political mechanism of pluralism and multiparty government," he stated, while always referring to Western-style democratic systems as "demagogic bourgeois democracies". He criticized the old communist policies, blaming them on corrupt leaders. Thus, Linh's policies were the constant target of criticism from the more conservative elements in the Communist Party. Linh stepped down as party leader in 1991, having announced his withdrawal a year before. His poor health was cited as the cause, as he had been hospitalized for what is suspected to have been a stroke in 1989, but political rivalries probably also played into his decision. He was succeeded by Đỗ Mười, a supporter of Linh's reforms.
He was Advisor of the Party's Central Committee from 1991 to December 1997.http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/life/75nam/cacdaihoidang.htmhttp://222.255.31.179:8080/tiengviet/tulieuvankien/details.asp?topic=104&subtopic=210&leader_topic=504&id=BT2720640558
Starting with a surprising speech at the 1996 party congress and then series of letters to the country's newspapers, Linh eventually renounced the effects of his own policies, accusing foreign investors of exploiting his native country and harming socialism. He attacked the growing gap between the rich and the poor and accused American companies of dumping goods on the country rather than helping it with investments and technology. He then wrote a regular newspaper column called "Things That Must Be Done Immediately" attacking corruption and incompetence among the Vietnamese political elite. Linh died of liver cancer on April 27, 1998, in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
from 1986 to 1991 and a political leader of the Vietcong during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. During his time in office, Linh was a strong advocate of "doi moi" (renovation), an economic plan whose aim is to turn Vietnam economy to a market economy. As such, Linh was often touted the Vietnamese Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
after the Soviet leader, who introduced Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
.
Linh was born in Hưng Yên, near Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
on July 1, 1915. Though this is unconfirmed, he is likely to have come from a bourgeois family. His original name was Nguyễn Văn Cúc, he would later adopt Nguyễn Văn Linh as his nom de guerre. At age 14, Linh became involved in underground communist movement against French colonial rule
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, joining the Revolutionary Youth League. In 1930 at the age of sixteen, Linh was arrested and incarcerated until 1936 for distributing leaflets directed against the French. After his release, he joined the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
. He was sent to Saigon, in the southern part of the country to help establish party cells, causing him to be detained again from 1941 to 1945. In 1945, Vietnam declared its independence from French rule and the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
ensued. Meanwhile, Linh rose in the party hierarchy becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1960. During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, he was the party secretary for South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, which had seen him direct the guerrilla resistance against the American-backed government there, but most of his duties were organizational rather than military. He also specialized in propaganda, studying and attempting to influence American politics in favor of Vietnam. He trained special forces who infiltrated organizations in Saigon. In 1968, Linh directed the Tet Offensive against the Americans. This successful surprise attack throughout the country was a turning point of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. After the end of the Vietnam War and the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975, Linh was inducted to the Communist Party's Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
and became party chief of the capital Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
. He favored a slow transformation of the formerly capitalist southern part of the country causing him to come into conflict with his party colleagues. In the late 1970s, though considered a promising party politician, he had repeated arguments with Lê Duẩn, Hồ Chí Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
's successor as party leader, preventing him from rising further in the hierarchy. In 1982, he was even removed from the Politburo. According to his friends, Linh resigned after an argument over the future of South Vietnam, in which he defended private capital.
In the mid-1980s the Vietnamese economy experienced crisis, making a more liberal, market-based economy more of a sensible option to many politicians. This led to Linh's being re-instated in the Politburo in 1985 and even being made party general secretary the following year. Immediately, he started reforming Vietnam's economy. Renouncing the ideological decisions that he claimed had caused the problems, he allowed private enterprise and market price
Market price
In economics, market price is the economic price for which a good or service is offered in the marketplace. It is of interest mainly in the study of microeconomics...
s and disbanded agricultural collectives. This change in policy was dubbed doi moi, a Vietnamese term meaning innovation. In the political sphere, Linh tried to improve relations
Foreign relations of Vietnam
-Soviet era:During the Vietnam War , North Vietnam balanced relations with its two major allies, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China....
with both the United States
United States–Vietnam relations
After a 20-year hiatus of severed ties, President Bill Clinton announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995. Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January...
and China
Sino-Vietnamese relations
The bilateral relations between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People's Republic of China have been turbulent, despite their common socialist background. Centuries of conquest by the PRC's imperial predecessor have given Vietnam an entrenched suspicion of Chinese attempts to dominate it...
. In 1990, he secretly visited China, becoming the first Vietnamese leader to do so since the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War
Sino-Vietnamese War
The Sino–Vietnamese War , also known as the Third Indochina War, known in the PRC as and in Vietnam as Chiến tranh chống bành trướng Trung Hoa , was a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam...
. In 1989, he ordered the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia, where they had been sent to remove Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
's Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
regime. However, as far as domestic policy is concerned, Linh felt there was little need for change. "It is not objectively necessary to establish a political mechanism of pluralism and multiparty government," he stated, while always referring to Western-style democratic systems as "demagogic bourgeois democracies". He criticized the old communist policies, blaming them on corrupt leaders. Thus, Linh's policies were the constant target of criticism from the more conservative elements in the Communist Party. Linh stepped down as party leader in 1991, having announced his withdrawal a year before. His poor health was cited as the cause, as he had been hospitalized for what is suspected to have been a stroke in 1989, but political rivalries probably also played into his decision. He was succeeded by Đỗ Mười, a supporter of Linh's reforms.
He was Advisor of the Party's Central Committee from 1991 to December 1997.http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/life/75nam/cacdaihoidang.htmhttp://222.255.31.179:8080/tiengviet/tulieuvankien/details.asp?topic=104&subtopic=210&leader_topic=504&id=BT2720640558
Starting with a surprising speech at the 1996 party congress and then series of letters to the country's newspapers, Linh eventually renounced the effects of his own policies, accusing foreign investors of exploiting his native country and harming socialism. He attacked the growing gap between the rich and the poor and accused American companies of dumping goods on the country rather than helping it with investments and technology. He then wrote a regular newspaper column called "Things That Must Be Done Immediately" attacking corruption and incompetence among the Vietnamese political elite. Linh died of liver cancer on April 27, 1998, in Ho Chi Minh City.