Lê Khả Phiêu

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Lê, but is often simplified to Le in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Phiêu.

Lê Khả Phiêu
Le Kha Phieu in 2011
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
In office 26 December 1997 – 22 April 2001
Preceded by	Đỗ Mười
Succeeded by	Nông Đức Mạnh
Secretary of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party
In office 29 December 1997 – 22 April 2001
Preceded by	Đỗ Mười
Succeeded by	Nông Đức Mạnh
Personal details
Born	(1932-12-27)27 December 1932 Đông Khê commune, Đông Sơn District, French Indochina
Died	7 August 2020(2020-08-07) (aged 87) Hanoi, Vietnam
Political party	Communist Party of Vietnam
Military service
Allegiance	Vietnam
Branch/service	Vietnam People's Army
Years of service	1950–1997
Rank	Colonel General
Commands	Chairman of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army Political Commissar of the High Command of the Vietnamese Volunteer Soldiers in Cambodia
Battles/wars	Cambodian–Vietnamese War, Vietnam War, First Indochina War

Lê Khả Phiêu (27 December 1932 – 7 August 2020) was a Vietnamese politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from December 1997 to April 2001. Lê Khả Phiêu served in the Vietnam People's Army during the First and Second Indochina Wars, join in the Cambodian war, and was Head of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army.

Lê Khả Phiêu has previously been viewed as a conservative. However, this categorization has been challenged by historian Martin Gainsborough, who notes that Lê Khả Phiêu made some remarkably outspoken comments about problems in the party before the Tenth Party Congress. Lê Khả Phiêu criticized what he called 'illness of partyization' (bệnh đảng hoá), meaning that the Party controls everything. Lê Khả Phiêu was a protégé of his predecessor, Đỗ Mười. He was elevated to the Politburo in the early 1990s.

Early life

Lê Khả Phiêu was born on 27 December 1932 in Thượng Phúc village in Đông Khê District in Thanh Hoa Province. In 1945, he joined the local Viet Minh movement and joined the Indochinese Communist Party on 19 June 1949.

On 1 May 1950 he was sent by the Viet Minh to join the army. He was promoted to second lieutenant, advancing to the position of Company Politician in the 66th Regiment of the 304th Division. From September 1953 to 1958, he held the post of Deputy Political Officer member of the battalion and then 66th Regimental Political Chair.

Death

Lê Khả Phiêu died on 7 August 2020 in Hanoi, after suffering from serious illness, at the age of 88. The cause of death was listed as COVID-19.

A 2-day mourning period for his death was decreed nationwide in Vietnam from 14 to 15 August 2020. He was buried at Mai Dịch Cemetery in Hanoi.

Awards and honors

Source:

Gold Star Order (2007)
Military Exploit Order First class	Military Exploit Order Second class	Military Exploit Order Third class	Resistance Order First class	Resolution for Victory Order Third class
Feat Order First class	Feat Order Second class	Feat Order Third class	Medal for the Victory of Liberation First Class	Medal for the Victory of Liberation Second Class
Medal for the Victory of Liberation Third Class	Liberation Order First Class	Liberation Order Second Class	Liberation Order Third Class	Victory Banner Medal
Glorious Fighter Medal First Class	Glorious Fighter Medal Second Class	Glorious Fighter Medal Third Class	Order of José Martí (Cuba)	Freedom Medal (Laos)

Other decorations include:

• 65-year Party membership badge (2014)

References

References

• Bolton, Kent (1999): "Domestic Sources of Vietnam's Foreign Policy: Normalizing Relations with the United States". in Thayer, Carlyle A., Amer, Ramses (ed.): Vietnamese Foreign Policy in Transition. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
• Gainsborough, Martin (2010): Vietnam – Rethinking the State. Zed Books, London & New York

External links

• Vietnam Entering the 21st Century, a 2001 collection of his works in PDF format