Lê Duẩn

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This is a Vietnamese name; the family name is Lê, but is often simplified as Le in English-language text. According to Vietnamese custom, this person properly should be referred to by the given name Duẩn.

Lê Duẩn (April 7, 1907 - July 10, 1986) was an original founder of the Indochinese Communist Party, having been introduced to communism while he was a railroad worker during the 1920s.

Duẩn served on the North Vietnamese Central Committee under Ho Chi Minh, and directed the formation of an underground Communist organization in South Vietnam. He became first secretary of the party in 1960, officially becoming the most important person in the party other than Ho.

After Ho's death, Duẩn assumed leadership of North Vietnam and later united Vietnam. When South Vietnam became united with North Vietnam in 1976, Duẩn became general secretary of the party. He approved a Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia to overthrow the Chinese backed Khmer Rouge government in that country. This caused a disruption in relations between Vietnam and China, to which Vietnam responded by deporting ethnic Chinese residents of the country and cultivating a closer alliance with the Soviet Union. In 1979 Lê Duẩn was awarded Lenin Peace Prize.

Duẩn remained general secretary until his death. He died in Hanoi and was succeeded by Truong Chinh. Lê Duẩn was also known as Le Dung, and was known publicly as "anh Ba", or "Third Brother."