The two-day state funeral of former State President Le Duc Anh commenced on Friday morning in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the north-central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

People were invited to pay their respects from 7:00 am on Friday at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi, the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, and the headquarters of Thua Thien-Hue People’s Committee.

The body of former President Anh will be laid in state at the National Funeral Hall, and a memorial service is scheduled to take place at all three venues at 11:00 am on the same day.

Former State President Le Duc Anh. File photo: Tuoi Tre

In the capital, delegations of officials led by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and Deputy State President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh paid their tributes to the late former president.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen and his delegation are also visiting Hanoi to attend the funeral.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan pays her respect to the former president.

In the southern metropolis, chairman of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan, along with other high-ranking leaders and military officials, have also paid their respects and signed and added memories to a guest book for the late President.

The burial ceremony will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Cemetery at 5:00 pm on Friday.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc

National mourning will last until the end of Saturday.

National flags will be flown at half-mast at governmental offices and public spaces.  No public entertainment events will be held during the two-day state funeral.

Deputy State President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh (L)

Former President Anh, aged 99, passed away due to illness and old age at his home in Hanoi on April 22.

Born in 1920 in Thua Thien-Hue Province, he served as state president between 1992 and 1997.

Following his presidency, he became an advisor to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1997, before retiring in April 2001.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen and his delegation at the funeral in Hanoi.

Anh was a member of the all-powerful Politburo from March 1982 to December 1997.

He was also a military general and served as Minister of National Defense from February 1987 to September 1992.

Officials from the Ministry of Public Security

Delegation from the Ministry of National Defense

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan attends the funeral at the Reunification Palace.

Officials at the funeral in Ho Chi Minh City

Representatives from consulate generals in Ho Chi Minh City

The funeral in the north-central province of Thua Thien-Hue

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