Lê Khả Phiêu (; 27 December 1931 – 7 August 2020Nguyên Tổng bí thư Lê Khả Phiêu từ trần, Former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu dead) was a Vietnamese politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from December 1997 to April 2001.Gainsborough 2010, p. 143 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.The A to Z of Vietnam Bruce M. Lockhart, William J. Duiker – 2010 p205 Lê Khả Phiêu
Early life Lê Khả Phiêu was born on 27 December 1931 in Thượng Phúc village in Đông Sơn district in Thanh Hoa Province. In 1945, he joined the local Viet Minh movement and joined the Indochinese Communist Party on 19 June 1948.
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.
He was elevated to the Politburo in the early 1990s.Bolton 1999, p. 180
General Secretaryship Phiêu was a protégé of his predecessor, Đỗ Mười.Bolton 1999, 177
Lê Khả Phiêu has previously been viewed as a conservative.Bolton 1999 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.Gainsborough 2010, 137
In 1999, Phiêu visited Beijing, where he met General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin and announced a joint 16 Word Guideline for improved bilateral relations; a Joint Statement for Comprehensive Cooperation was issued in 2000. In 2000, Vietnam and China successfully resolved longstanding disputes over their land border and maritime rights in the Gulf of Tonkin, including the cession of land surrounding the Friendship Pass to China.
Phiêu delayed the signing of Vietnam's first bilateral trade treaty with the United States because he was concerned about the potential Chinese response.
Critics of Phiêu's foreign policy contended that he deferred too much to China.
Death Lê Khả Phiêu died on 7 August 2020 in Hanoi after suffering from a serious illness, at the age of 88.
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 OrderFirst classMilitary Exploit OrderSecond classMilitary Exploit OrderThird classResistance OrderFirst classResolution for Victory OrderThird classFeat OrderFirst classFeat OrderSecond classFeat OrderThird classMedal for the Victory of LiberationFirst ClassMedal for the Victory of LiberationSecond ClassMedal for the Victory of LiberationThird ClassLiberation OrderFirst ClassLiberation OrderSecond ClassLiberation OrderThird ClassVictory Banner MedalGlorious Fighter MedalFirst ClassGlorious Fighter MedalSecond ClassGlorious Fighter MedalThird ClassOrder 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