1922–2008
○ Died in Singapore in
Architect of Đổi Mới and prime minister of Vietnam
In a 2007 BBC Vietnamese Service interview he said "There are a hundred ways of being a patriot. The motherland of Vietnam doesn't belong to one person, one party or one group only", acknowledged the party's "serious mistakes" in the south after 1975, and urged national reconciliation.
Vietnamese politician and economic reformer. Born in 1922 to a peasant family in Vĩnh Long province in the Mekong Delta, he joined the Indochinese Communist Party in 1939 and fought in the wars against the French and then the US and South Vietnamese forces. He was party chief in Ho Chi Minh City from 1976 to 1982 and deputy prime minister from 1982 to 1991; as prime minister (1991–1997) he drove the Đổi Mới reforms and Vietnam's opening to the outside world. He died in Singapore on 11 June 2008.
Also known as: Vo Van Kiet · Sau Dan · Phan Van Hoa
Activities and affiliations
-
1939–2008
Communist Party of Vietnam / Workers' Party of Vietnam
Government and administration -
1991–1997
Vietnam state institutionsChairman of the Council of Ministers, Prime MinisterMain
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1939Joined the Indochinese Communist Party
- 1946–1954Fought in the First Indochina War
- 1976–1982Party chief in Ho Chi Minh City
- 1982–1991Deputy prime minister
- 1991–1997Prime minister
- 1995Vietnam joined ASEAN and normalised relations with the US
Related historical events
- 1975–1976End of the Vietnam War and state reunificationpost-reunification reform architectA southern-born reform leader after reunification who backed Doi Moi and gave the remark representing the war's split memories.
- 1978–1979The Sino-Vietnamese WarPrime minister of VietnamVisited Beijing with Đỗ Mười in November 1991 and issued the normalisation communiqué.
Building the North–South 500-kV transmission line
In the early 1990s, southern Vietnam faced a serious power shortage while the north had surplus electricity. At a meeting with energy-sector leaders in early 1991, Võ Văn Kiệt asked how power could be transmitted south; after receiving the answer that a high-voltage line was needed, he set a two-year completion deadline. Work on the 1,500-kilometre line began on 5 April 1992. The project mobilised 43,000 people from the electricity, construction, defence and transport sectors, with Vietnamese engineers and workers playing the key role. Construction was divided into four sections. The most difficult, more than 600 kilometres between Hà Tĩnh and Kon Tum, crossed hills, jungle and waterways. Kiệt personally attended progress meetings and directed the resolution of obstacles. The line, built with 3,600 steel towers, entered service on 27 May 1994. Connecting the northern and southern grids addressed the southern power shortage; the final investment cost was reported at 5.713 trillion đồng, below the initial estimate.