Pham Van Dong was born in Duc Tan Village, Mo Duc district, in Quang Ngai province on March 1, 1906. In 1926, Dong traveled to Guangzhou, China to attend a training course ran by Nguyen Ai Quoc, otherwise known as Ho Chi Minh.

Active in the nationalist cause in the 1920s, he became an associate of Ho Chi Minh and helped establish the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP).

In 1929, Pham Van Dong worked in the ICP in Saigon. Later on in the year, the French arrested Dong and sentenced him to prison for ten years. However, he only served seven years after the French granted general pardons.

After being released, Pham Van Dong continued his activities in the ICP. During World War II, he helped found the Vietminh, which after the war fought the French in the First Indochina War. In 1945, Pham Van Dong was appointed minister of finance after Ho Chi Minh rose in power and created the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV).

After Vietnam was partitioned in 1954, Dong became foreign minister of North Vietnam and prime minister the following year. He became the leading spokesman during the Vietnam War.

After the fall of South Vietnam, he continued as prime minister of the united country until his retirement in December 1986. He passed away on April 2, 2000 in Hanoi at the age of 94.

Photos Courtesy of Vietnam Photos