Nguyễn Phú Trọng, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Secretary of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party and Chairman of the National Assembly, died July 19, 2024, at the age of 80. Trọng was widely respected for his ideological contributions as well as his long leadership on economic and political issues. 

He was a member of the Communist Party for 55 years and led the party since 2014. He also was president of Vietnam from 2018 to 2021, one of only three leaders to have simultaneously held the presidency and the top party post (one of the others being Ho Chi Minh).

Comrade Trọng, with a personal reputation of being incorruptible, focused on combating corruption and improving party discipline. He encouraged youth to participate in Vietnamese political life, raised the level of political awareness in the military and instituted the “blazing furnace,” an aggressive campaign against the corruption he saw as a threat to the successful construction of a socialist society. 

By exposing thousands of acts of corruption by public employees, Trọng’s blazing furnace campaign has raised awareness of corruption and is intended to deter its continuation. It is popular among many Vietnamese, but foreign investors complain that the anti-corruption campaign is leading to instability and self-servingly warn that it might jeopardize further investment (making it hard to use bribery for their purposes).

Trọng also played a significant role in shaping Vietnam’s position in the international arena. Calling his approach “bamboo diplomacy,” he sought a balance in relations in today’s developing multipolar world. Vietnam maintains good diplomatic and economic relations with China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, as well as with neighboring countries and India. 

The Vietnamese government received condolences on the death of Nguyễn Phú Trọng from the U.S., China, Japan and Russia, as well as from numerous other countries. General Secretary Trọng also maintained especially close ties with Cuba, a country he visited many times. He emphasized that Vietnam understood the severe challenges Cuba continues to face.

The death of Comrade Nguyễn Phú Trọng is a loss for Vietnam at this critical time. The country has embarked on risky relations with the U.S., which of course does not have the interests of socialist Vietnam at heart. There are forces within Vietnam that will continue the careful balancing act. Friends of Vietnam must also be on the lookout for opportunities to show our solidarity with this country which has been able to accomplish so much under the guidance of heroic fighters like Nguyễn Phú Trọng.