Nông Đức Mạnh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nông Ðức Mạnh

Nông Đức Mạnh pronunciation (help·info)(born September 11, 1940) is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and has held that position since April 22, 2001. He was reappointed to that position in April of 2006.

His official biography says that he was the son of peasants of the Tay ethnic group and that he was born on September 11, 1940, in Cuong Loi, Na Ri District, Bac Kan province. He began his career as a forestry worker and joined the revolution in 1958. He was admitted to the CPV on July 5, 1963 and became an official member of the CPV on July 10, 1964.

There have been persistent rumors that he is the son of Hồ Chí Minh. In April 2001, after he was selected to head the Communist Party, a reporter at a news conference asked him to confirm or deny the rumors. He said "All Vietnamese people are the children of Uncle Ho." When asked again about the rumor in January 2002 by a Time Asia reporter, he denied the rumors but added that all Vietnamese people consider Hồ Chí Minh their spiritual father.^[1]

Many view him as a moderniser, and he has announced that he wants Vietnam to become an industrialised country by 2020.^{[citation needed]}