Secretary of the An Giang Party Committee Le Hong Quang offers incense to late President Ton Duc Thang on his 42nd death anniversary on March 16. (Photo: VNA)Secretary of the An Giang Party Committee Le Hong Quang and other provincial leaders offered incense and observed a minute’s silence to show respect for one of Vietnam’s greatest revolutionary leaders at the memorial site dedicated to the late President in My Hoa Hung commune.
Thang, born in 1888 in My Hoa Hung, joined the patriotic movement against the French colonialists at a young age. He then moved to France and participated in the workers’ movements there, as well as the rising of the French Navy in the Black Sea in support of the October Revolution in Russia.
In the 1920s, he returned to Vietnam and led the workers’ movement in Saigon, now HCM City, with the Ba Son strike as the most prominent example of the movement’s activities.
In 1929, the French colonialists arrested and sentenced him to 20 years in Con Dao Prison. One year later, he joined the Communist Party of Vietnam while he was in prison.
After the August Revolution in 1945, Thang regained his freedom and joined the resistance war against the French invaders. He was assigned many important missions by the Party.
He was the second President of Vietnam, serving from 1969 to 1976.
He made great contributions to the Vietnamese revolution, the world peace movement, and international friendships. He was the first person to be awarded the Sao Vang (Golden Star) Order from the Party and Government. He was also conferred with the Lenin Order and the Lenin Prize of the Soviet Union.
He died in 1980./.
VNA
