Nguyen Chi Thanh

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Nguyen Chi Thanh
1914-1967
Nickname	Revolutionary alias, Xuan; Pen name, Truong Son
Place of birth	Annam, French Indochina
Place of death	Hanoi, Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Allegiance	Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Service/branch	People's Army of Vietnam
Rank	General, Politburo member
Commands held	COSVN
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Resolution for Victory Order

General Nguyễn Chí Thanh (1914 - July 7, 1967) was a North Vietnamese officer who was born in Thua Thien Province in Central Vietnam to a poor peasant family. He joined the Indochinese Communist Party in the mid-1930s and apparently spent most of the Second World War in a French prison. He worked for the Party in Central Vietnam until his rise to the Politburo in 1951. During the First Indochina War Thanh was made a general of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). From 1965 until his death he served as the leading strategist and military commander of COSVN, the southern headquarters of communist military and political operations within the Republic of Vietnam. In late 1967, he presented plans for what was to become the Tet Offensive to the Politburo, but died of a heart attack shortly after receiving permission to implement his plan.