Ton Duc Thang was born into a farming family in Long Xuyen district, An Giang province in 1888. Seeing the hardship Vietnamese people suffer during the feudal and colonial regime, he led a workers’ strike at Ba Son shipyard in 1912, which began his revolutionary career. Associate Prof Le Quoc Ly, Vice Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said Ton Duc Thang started as a trade union leader, then became a Communist Party leader.

“Ton Duc Thang joined the patriotic movement at a young age. While working abroad, he supported Russia’s October Revolution. When he returned to Vietnam, he joined Sai Gon – Cho Lon workers’ struggle and learned the importance of unity and cooperation within the working class against colonial and feudal regimes,” Mr. Ly noted.

After President Ho Chi Minh died, Ton Duc Thang was appointed President of Vietnam and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. He led the people, following Ho Chi Minh’s will to continue the struggle to reunify Vietnam. Professor Do Quang Hung of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, has done a lot of research on President Ton Duc Thang.

“Ton Duc Thang was a close friend of President Ho Chi Minh. After Ho Chi Minh passed away, Mr. Thang led the revolution and fight for national reunification,” Mr. Hung said.

Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan said President Ton Duc Thang was not only a persistent politician and a talented leader, he also made great contributions to Party theory and popularizing Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts on national solidarity in Vietnam.

“President Ho Chi Minh and President Ton Duc Thang left us important lessons on national solidarity and patriotism, which created great strength and a great victory for our revolution,” Ms. Doan affirmed.