National mourning held for former Party leader Le Kha Phieu

The respect-paying ceremony for former General Secretary of the Party Central Committee Le Kha Phieu started on August 14 at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi, Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City and 25B Hall in the late leader hometown of Thanh Hoa.

The respect-paying ceremony for former General Secretary of the Party Central Committee Le Kha Phieu at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

The respect-paying ceremony for former General Secretary of the Party Central Committee Le Kha Phieu started on August 14 at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi, Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City and 25B Hall in the late leader hometown of Thanh Hoa.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong sent a wreath to pay tribute to the late leader.

Representatives from the Party, State, National Assembly, Government and Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) came to the National Funeral Hall to pay last respects to former Party Chief Le Kha Phieu.

The delegation from the Party Central Committee was led by Politburo member and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc who also headed the delegation from the Government.

The National Assembly delegation was led by NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, while the President delegation was led by Party Central Committee member and Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.

VFF representatives were headed by Secretary of Party Central Committee and President of the VFF Central Committee Tran Thanh Man.

Former Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh; former Presidents Tran Duc Luong, Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; and former NA Chairman Nguyen Van An; and other former Party and State leaders also paid farewell to former Party Chief Le Kha Phieu.

Former NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung also sent flowers to pay tribute to the late leader.

Meanwhile at the Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City, representatives from the Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and VFF Committee of Ho Chi Minh City as well as former Party, State and VFF leaders in the city led by Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan paid last respects to former leader Le Kha Phieu.

Leading the delegation of Party agencies based in the south to the respect-paying ceremony was Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee Office Nguyen Van Nen. Leaders of Military Zones 7 and 9 also came to pay tribute to the former Party leader.

In Thanh Hoa, the respect-paying ceremony was attended by a delegation from the Central Military Commission and Defence Ministry led by General Luong Cuong, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission’s Standing Board and Director of the Vietnam People’s Army General Department of Politics.

Comrade Le Kha Phieu was born on December 27, 1931 in Dong Khe commune, Dong Son district, the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, and resided at 7/36/C1 Ly Nam De, Cua Dong ward, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.

He started participating in revolutionary activities in 1947, and joined the Communist Party of Vietnam on June 19, 1949. He was member of the Party Central Committee of the 7th and 8th tenures, member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat of the 7th tenure, Politburo member of the 7th and 8th tenures, General Secretary of the Party Central Committee from December 1997 to April 2001; and Deputy to the National Assembly of the 9th and 10th tenures.

After a period of illness, despite the wholehearted care by the Party, State, medical group and his family, he passed away at 2:52 on August 7, 2020, of serious illness and old age at his home.

Over more than 70 years of his revolutionary activities, comrade Le Kha Phieu made great contributions to the glorious revolution cause of the Party and the nation. He was awarded with the Golden Star, an insignia of 70-year Party membership, and many other noble Vietnamese and international orders and medals./.

VNA