In the past nearly 40 years, the Doi Moi (national renovation) cause has enabled our country to overcome challenging times and obtain tremendous historic achievements; our country’s fortune, potential, position, and international prestige have been unceasingly raised. During that journey, late General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, who initiated and promoted the flow of Doi Moi, forever remains a symbol of breakthrough thinking, political courage, and spirit of caring for the people and the country.

Comrade Nguyen Van Linh at the 6th National Party Congress (photo: qdnd.vn)

At the 6^th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) which commenced the period of Doi Moi, comrade Nguyen Van Linh was elected as General Secretary of the CPV’s Central Committee. As the first General Secretary of the Doi Moi period full of difficulties and challenges, “comrade Nguyen Van Linh, together with the collective leadership, proactively, creatively, cleverly steered the revolutionary ship through major transformations around the world, stepping up the Doi Moi cause, obtaining very significant achievements, performing the two strategic tasks of Fatherland construction and protection, facilitating socio-economic development, strengthening national defence and security, improving the people’s life, expanding the country’s foreign relations, raising Vietnam’s status in the international arena”.

In nearly 70 years of engagement in revolutionary activities, comrade Nguyen Van Linh was one of the most excellent students of President Ho Chi Minh. He was an extremely resilient, loyal communist, dedicating his life to the ideal of national independence and socialism and the people’s happiness. He was a highly prestigious leader of the CPV, people, and Military, a reliable friend of the international community, an elite citizen of the Vietnamese nation.  

A trailblazer who engaged in formulating guidelines and exercised leadership over the cause of Doi Moi

In June 1986, when being assigned to be Permanent Secretary of the CPV, with experiences learned from “fence-breaking” models during his term of office as Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Municipal Party Committee and the spirit of courage and creativity, comrade Nguyen Van Linh made effective contributions to designing our Party and State’s guidelines and policies for Doi Moi, creating a new impetus right in preparatory work for the success of the 6^th National Party Congress (December 1986). Based on realities of localities and the people’s interests and aspirations, the Congress had a clearer, more proper understanding of theories about the period of transition towards socialism, facing the truth, making correct evaluations, respecting and acting according to objective laws, frankly pointing out economic failures, subjectivism, and mistakes in “desiring to quickly realise so many socialist goals in the initial phase”; consequently, the Congress formulated and approved guidelines for Doi Moi, marking a turning point and laying a foundation for bringing our country out of crisis, fostering the country’s robust, comprehensive development.

When the world’s socialist movement faced a lot of difficulties and hostile forces stepped up their “peaceful evolution” efforts, the 6^th Plenum of the 6^th Party Central Committee chaired by comrade Nguyen Van Linh formulated basic principles for the Doi Moi cause by which advancing towards socialism is our country’s inevitable path, a sound decision of our Uncle Ho and CPV; Doi Moi does not mean changing socialist goals; Doi Moi is to effectively realise those goals via correct perceptions of socialism and proper forms, steps, and solutions; Marxism - Leninism is always the CPV’s ideological foundation for the entire revolutionary cause of our people; the CPV’s leadership is the deciding factor in victory of our people’s Fatherland construction and protection; building socialist democracy and promoting the people’s right to mastery represent the goal and motivation of socialism building.

General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh not only remained steadfast in those above-mentioned principles, but also stayed flexible in his leadership process. He always emphasised that it is necessary to renew our thinking, especially our economic thinking, and concentrate on unlocking productive forces and every social potential to gradually improve the people’s life and achieve stability for a political reform. Many guidelines were institutionalised and issued, such as Decision 217-HĐBT, dated 14 November 1987, by the Council of Ministers on promulgating policies to renew planning and socialist business accounting for state-owned enterprises, the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam (1987), laying a foundation for monetising wages, eliminating the coupon system, step by step transforming from a barter economy into a commodity economy regulated by the market and managed by the State, unceasingly improving the people’s life. In agriculture, under General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh’s direction, on 5 April 1988, the 6^th Politburo released Resolution 10-NQ/TW on “renewing agricultural economic management”, completing piecework mechanisms, creating breakthrough, sustainable agricultural development.

Notably, when Communist Parties in the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries faced the risk of losing their leadership due to serious mistakes and hostile forces’ increasing sabotage efforts, comrade Nguyen Van Linh and the 6^th Politburo paid special attention to Party building and rectification work. Many resolutions, such as Resolution 04-NQ/TW, dated 12 September 1987, by the 6^th Politburo, on the campaign to purify party organisations and state apparatus, enhance the combativeness of those organisations, and improve social relations, Resolution 07-NQ/TW, dated 24 August 1989, by the 6^th Party Central Committee’s 7^th Plenum on several urgent issues regarding ideological work in response to the current domestic and international situation, helped reinforce our cadres and party members’ revolutionary will and political steadfastness against wrong perceptions, vagueness, and a lack of vigilance.

In all his positions, comrade Nguyen Van Linh always believed that our CPV must keep improving and perfecting its leadership, especially in response to the requirements of Doi Moi and socialism building. At the same time, cadres and party members must keep bettering themselves to meet the requirements set by the cause of Doi Moi. They must renew their awareness, unceasingly improve and apply their theoretical knowledge to their tasks, and overcome empiricism and dogmatism. While encouraging self-criticism and criticism, comrade Nguyen Van Linh always set a good example in conducting self-examination in terms of discipline, morality, and lifestyle, which was highly appreciated by the entire CPV and people.

On ideological front, General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh provided directions and acted as a journalist who used his sharp pen as a weapon in the struggle against corruption and negative practices, making significant contributions to Party building and rectification, bringing a democratic atmosphere to social life, creating a new incentive within society, demonstrating democracy and openness, matching his words with action, facilitating the fight against negative phenomena, purifying agencies of the Party and State. At the same time, he made outstanding contributions to foreign affairs, creating a favourable international environment for Vietnam’s Doi Moi cause. Typical example included Resolution 13-NQ/TW, dated 20 May 1988, by the 6^th Politburo on diplomatic tasks and policies in the new situation; that Resolution clearly showcased innovative thinking and adjustments in foreign policies, while establishing the goal of taking advantage of international support and the trend of globalisation to foster national development. The strategic guidelines, namely proactive and active international integration, clearer identification of “friends” and “foes”, harmonious combination of cooperation and struggle, and promotion of economic development, marked a shift in diplomatic thinking from closed and confrontational to open and integrated foreign policies, allowing Vietnam to deeply, widely take part in economic, political, cultural activities of the world, making contributions to the country’s stability and development.

A scientific workshop on major contributions of General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh to the Vietnamese revolution (photo: qdnd.vn)

Bringing into play legacy of General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh in the era of the Vietnamese nation’s rise

Vietnam is firmly entering a new development era with aspirations for building a powerful, prosperous country and becoming a developed nation on the occasion of the 100^th Anniversary of the National Day (2045). In such a context, inheriting and creatively developing ideological legacy of General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, who initiated Doi Moi, are of utmost importance. Lessons on formulation and realisation of the guidelines for Doi Moi, Party building and rectification, the fight against negative practices, international integration, and the spirit of acting for the people and the country remain valuable both theoretically and practically, providing a foundation for our CPV to apply, supplement, and creatively develop in the new historical period.

In this pivotal period, our CPV will continue applying and creatively developing Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, and theories about Doi Moi. It will comprehensively, synchronously step up the cause of Doi Moi under the motto of taking socio-economic development and environmental protection as the centre, Party building as the key, cultural and human development as the foundation, and defence - security consolidation, diplomacy, and international integration as the central, routine task. Due attention will be paid to intensifying the building and rectification of the Party and political system, closely controlling power, resolutely, persistently preventing and combating corruption, wastefulness, and negative phenomena. More importantly, the CPV will uphold the spirit of innovation, creativity, daring to think, daring to do, daring to take responsibility for the common good, while encouraging cadres and party members to renew their thinking and match their words with action - the core qualities of General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh.

Furthermore, great value will be attached to completing socialist-oriented market economy institutions, conducting a robust reform in economic management, and promoting self-reliance and creativity in production and business. Consideration will be given to designing and perfecting institutions for the country’s rapid, sustainable development, resolutely removing bottlenecks, and unlocking all resources for development. At the same time, great weight will be added to promoting the strength of national great unity and people’s hearts and minds posture and combining the national strength with the strength of the times to firmly protect the Fatherland early and from afar. All those guidelines will be implemented under the spirit of unceasing renovation, being loyal but not dogmatic, and being creative but not straying from principles, which is in line with what General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh ever initiated and persistently pursued during the years of the nation’s historic transformations.

The 110^th birthday Anniversary of General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh (1 July 1915 - 1 July 2025) is an occasion for the whole CPV, Military, and people to take a look back on and treasure major contributions of the late General Secretary to our revolutionary cause. This event will also help encourage the spirit of being innovative and pioneering and acting for the interests of the people and country, as exemplified by comrade Nguyen Van Linh. His theoretical and practical legacy will continue guiding our entire CPV, Military, and people to realise the aspirations for building a mighty, prosperous Viet Nam.

LE THI THU HONG, PhD

Institute of Ho Chi Minh and Party Leaders

Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics