Võ Văn Kiệt

Võ Văn Kiệt (actually Phan Văn Hòa ; born November 23, 1922 in Trung Hiệp , Vũng Liêm District , Vĩnh Long Province , South Vietnam ; † June 11, 2008 in Singapore ) was a Vietnamese politician.

Võ Văn Kiệt came from an educated family. He joined the revolutionary underground of the French Indochina colony during his youth . During the Indochina War and the Vietnam War , he was one of the leading party functionaries in southern Vietnam. After the north's victory in 1975, Võ Văn Kiệt became chairman of the city's governing people's committee. In 1976 he took over the leadership of the city's party organization. Võ Văn Kiệt acquired the reputation of a pragmatic reformer who put practicality before ideology. In 1982 he was appointed a full member of the Politburo and was also appointed Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers. After Phạm Hùng's death , he temporarily became Prime Minister and was unable to prevail in a vote in the National Assembly.

From August 8, 1991 until his resignation on September 25, 1997, Võ Văn Kiệt was Prime Minister of Vietnam . He was one of the driving forces behind the Đổi-mới economic reform, which replaced the planned economy in the late 1980s and 1990s . He supported the privatization of a large part of the state industry, called for clearer laws and the end of special privileges for army and party leaders.

The rapprochement with the former archenemy USA also falls during his term of office. In 1994 the two states resumed diplomatic relations. Two months after resigning as Prime Minister, he also left the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bruce Lockhart, William J. Duiker: Historical Dictionary of Vietnam , 3rd Edition, Oxford, 2006, p. 422

Web links

• "Ex-Vietnamese PM Vo Van Kiet dies" , BBC , June 11 2008
• "Vo Van Kiet, who led Vietnam to freer markets, dead at 85" , International Herald Tribune , June 11, 2008
• "Vo Van Kiet, former Leader of Vietnam, this at 85" , New York Times , June 11, 2008