Ho Chi Minh

Hồ Chí Minh (né Nguyễn Sinh Cung; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho (Bác Hồ) or just Uncle (Bác), and by other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese communist revolutionary, nationalist, and politician. He served as prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945 to 1955 and as president from 1945 until his death, in 1969. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, he was the Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam, the predecessor of the current Communist Party of Vietnam.

Hồ Chí Minh was born in Nghệ An province in the French protectorate of Annam. From 1911, he left French Indochina to continue his revolutionary activities. He was also one of the founding members of the French Communist Party. In 1930, he founded the Communist Party of Vietnam and in 1941, he returned to Vietnam and founded the Việt Minh independence movement, an umbrella group. Then, Hồ led the August Revolution against the Japanese in August 1945, which resulted in the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. After the French returned to power the following month, Hồ's government retreated to the Việt Bắc region and began guerrilla warfare. The Việt Minh defeated the French Union in 1954 at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, ending the First Indochina War, and resulting in the division of Vietnam, with the Việt Minh in control of North Vietnam, and anti-communists in control of South Vietnam. He was a key figure in the People's Army of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975. Hồ officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems and died in 1969. North Vietnam was ultimately victorious against South Vietnam and its allies. Vietnam was officially unified in 1976. Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor.

The details of Hồ Chí Minh's life before he came to power in Vietnam are uncertain. He is known to have used between 50^: 582 and 200 pseudonyms. Information on his birth and early life is ambiguous and subject to academic debate. At least four existing official biographies vary on names, dates, places, and other hard facts while unofficial biographies vary even more widely.

Aside from being a politician, Hồ was a writer, poet, and journalist. He wrote several books, articles, and poems in Chinese, Vietnamese, and French.