General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong - Outstanding leader, devoted his life to the country and people

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, an extraordinary intellectual and talent of the Vietnamese revolution, an ideologist, a culturalist, a theoretical flag bearer of the Party, and an excellent student who constantly studied and followed the ideology, morality, and style of the great President Ho Chi Minh, devoted his whole life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and our nation, living his entire life for the country and the people.

Over 55 years of continuous service, tempered in revolutionary practice, strategic vision, sharp thinking, and closely linked with practical summaries, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong and the Party Central Committee have applied and creatively developed Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought. He constantly worked to build an increasingly clean and strong Party; established a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people; and supplemented, perfected, and led the successful implementation of the renovation policy, building our country to a level of “foundation, potential, prestige, and international position never seen before.”

Throughout his revolutionary career, Party work and Party building have held a vital position for Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong. Creatively applying Ho Chi Minh’s thought on Party building, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has deeply clarified the nature of the Party, the role of the Party in the cause of national renewal, and the building of a ruling Party based on the practice of renewal in Vietnam.

Since then, he and the Central Executive Committee have planned and led the successful implementation of strategic policies on Party building and rectification; resolutely and persistently fighting against individualism, degradation, and corruption within the Party, combating corruption and negativity while constantly cultivating revolutionary ethics, mettle, intellectual capacity, pioneering spirit, and promoting fine traditions and close ties with the people.

Under the leadership of the Party, headed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, our Party has demonstrated its resilience and intelligence. The entire Party, people, and army have achieved many great successes in the cause of national renewal, defeating all hostile forces’ sabotage plots and building a truly “moral and civilized” society.

As Chairman of the National Assembly and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, he always focused on building a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, for the people, and by the people.

Under the leadership of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, for the first time, our Party issued a Resolution on continuing to build and perfect the Vietnamese socialist rule-of-law state in the new period. This resolution set the goal of “Perfecting the Vietnamese socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people, led by the Communist Party of Vietnam”; upon the basis of having a complete legal system, strictly and consistently implemented; upholding the Constitution and the law, respecting, ensuring, and effectively protecting human rights and citizens’ rights; unifying state power, clearly assigning, closely coordinating, and effectively controlling it; establishing a professional, rule-of-law, and modern administration and judiciary; maintaining a streamlined, clean, effective, and efficient state apparatus; fostering a contingent of cadres, civil servants, and public employees with adequate qualities and capacity, who are truly professional and honest; ensuring modern and effective national governance; and meeting the requirements of rapid and sustainable national development, aiming to become a developed, high-income country with a socialist orientation by 2045” (1).

Imbued with Ho Chi Minh’s ideology and deeply aware of the critical position and role of culture – "Culture is the soul of the nation" and "If culture exists, the nation exists" – Cultural House Nguyen Phu Trong, an excellent leader on the Party’s cultural front, devoted much effort to building an advanced culture, imbued with national identity, which is truly the spiritual foundation of society, an endogenous strength, and an important driving force for national development.

Under the leadership of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, the documents of the 13th National Party Congress comprehensively and deeply addressed the cultural field. The National Conference on Party Culture, held after more than 70 years, is a milestone connecting the thoughts and actions of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army to vigorously promote the role of culture in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, realizing the aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country.

With profound political vision and strategic thinking, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong and the Party Central Committee have developed Vietnam’s foreign policy thinking, summarized practices, and formed the art of “Bamboo Diplomacy.” They built and developed Vietnam’s foreign affairs and diplomacy with the strong identity of “Vietnamese bamboo.”

Under the leadership of the Party, directly led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the identity of “Bamboo Diplomacy” has been strongly promoted, creating historical turning points and qualitative changes in the relationship between Vietnam and its major partners. Never before has Vietnam’s position, prestige, and image as a reliable partner and an active and responsible member been as prominent in the international arena as it is today. Never before has Vietnam integrated as deeply into the world economy, international politics, and human civilization as it does today.

During his tenure as President, Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, and Commander-in-Chief of the People’s Armed Forces, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong always paid deep attention to the People’s Army and People’s Public Security, ensuring the building of a strong, united, and cohesive Army and Public Security.

He often advised the armed forces to imbibe, study, and follow Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style, considering “Honor as the most sacred and noble thing,” wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the people, “working for people’s goods,” being “truly loyal, respectful, and loving to the people,” closely attached to the people, protecting the interests of the people, and making the people trust and support them more and more.

Under the leadership of the Party, directly led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the task of building a lean, compact, strong, and truly clean armed force, meeting the requirements and functions in the new situation, has achieved many significant results. The Public Security and the Army forces are united and closely coordinated, truly acting as the sword and shield, two wings of a bird, protecting and preserving peace and stability for the country’s development.

Throughout the ideology of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, the focus is on the People, the human beings, wholeheartedly serving the people, building the human beings, and taking the People as the subject and center of the innovation process.

Regarding the Party, he affirmed that “Our Party must have the highest responsibility to the people, taking care of the material and spiritual life of the people” (2); “The Party’s guidelines that do not reflect the interests of the people, the country, and the nation, and are not consistent with the laws of historical evolution, are wrong guidelines” (3); and “Close connection with the people is the law of the Party’s existence, development, and operation, and is the decisive factor in creating the Party’s strength” (4).

Analyzing the difference between the socialist rule of law state and the capitalist rule of law state, he stated that “The socialist rule of law state is essentially different from the bourgeois rule of law state in that: the rule of law under the capitalist regime is essentially a tool to protect and serve the interests of the bourgeoisie, while the rule of law under the socialist regime is a tool to express and implement the people’s right to mastery, to ensure and protect the interests of the vast majority of the people” (5).

Regarding the socialist market economy, he summarized, “A basic characteristic, an important attribute of the socialist orientation in the market economy in our country, is to link the economy with society, unify economic policies with social policies. Economic growth goes hand in hand with implementing social progress and equity in every step, every policy, and throughout the development process” (6); “Every economic policy must aim at the goal of social development [...], encouraging legal enrichment along with hunger eradication and poverty reduction, taking care of people with meritorious services and those who unfortunately encounter difficulties and hardships.”

Under the leadership of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, our Party has issued Resolutions on socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security of the six economic regions across the country until 2030, with a vision to 2045. These resolutions outline goals, visions, directions, and solutions to create strong and breakthrough development, contributing to the successful implementation of the country’s goals for 100 years under the leadership of the Party. By the middle of the 21st century, marking 100 years of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, our country aims to become a developed nation, realizing the aspiration of President Ho Chi Minh and bringing our country to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers.

Throughout his life, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong persistently devoted himself to the revolutionary cause of our Party and people with a spirit and will of steel, never retreating in the face of obstacles and difficulties. He affirmed a great personality, considering “Honor as the most sacred and noble thing,” firmly upholding principles, and living his entire life for the country and the people. He is truly a typical and exemplary model of pure revolutionary ethics, embodying “diligence and impartiality,” a simple lifestyle, a democratic, dedicated, and scientific working style, and respect and love for people. He was respected, highly trusted, and loved by cadres, party members, and people, and appreciated and highly esteemed by international friends.

We firmly believe that, under the leadership of the Party, steadfastly apply and creatively develop Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, and the Party's theory of innovation; steadfastly uphold national independence and socialism; and steadfastly uphold the principles of Party building; our entire Party, people, and army will unite, join hands, and be unanimous. We will seize opportunities, overcome challenges, and build our Party and a truly clean and strong political system. We will rapidly and sustainably develop the country, firmly defend the Fatherland, and turn our country into a developing nation with modern industry and high average income by 2030, when our Party celebrates its 100th anniversary. This will create a solid foundation for achieving the goal of becoming a developed, high-income country with a socialist orientation by the 100th anniversary of the country’s founding in 2045.

(1) Resolution of the Sixth Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee on continuing to build and perfect the Vietnamese socialist rule-of-law state in the new period.

(2) Nguyen Phu Trong: Building and rectifying the Party - Some theoretical and practical issues. National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2012, p.65.

(3) Nguyen Phu Trong: Building and rectifying the Party - Some theoretical and practical issues. National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2012, p.66.

(4) Nguyen Phu Trong: Building and rectifying the Party - Some theoretical and practical issues. National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2012, p.86.

(5) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues about socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam. Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2022, p.29.

(6) Nguyen Phu Trong: Building and rectifying the Party - Some theoretical and practical issues. National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2012, p.180.