A State funeral will be held for the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap, who died on October 4, according to an announcement of the Funeral Committee. 

The funeral committee consists of 30 members, headed by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

General Giap’s coffin will lie in state at the National Morgue at No. 5, Tran Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi . 

Mourners will pay respect to General Giap at the morgue as from 7:30 on October 12, and a memorial service will be held at the site as from 7:00 on October 13.  He will be buried the same day in his home province of Quang Binh, in line with the wish of the General and his family.  The memorial and burial services will be broadcast live by national TV channel VTV and radio Voice of Vietnam.  Memorial services will also be held at the office of the Quang Binh provincial People’s Committee and the Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City at the same time with the ceremonies in Hanoi.  During the two-day funeral, from 12:00 on October 11 to 12:00 on October 13, all State offices and public facilities will fly the national flag at half-mast and all entertainment activities will be stopped.

Profile

General Vo Nguyen Giap (real name Vo Giap, alias Van) was born on August 25, 1911 , in Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, the central province of Quang Binh.

During 1925-1926, he joined students’ movement in Hue.  In 1927, he participated in the Tan Viet (New Vietnam) Revolutionary Party (a predecessor of the Dong Duong Communist Party and now the Communist Party of Vietnam). In 1930, he was arrested and imprisoned two years by the enemy. After being released, he continued to involve in revolutionary activities, developing revolutionary bases among the youth. In 1936, he worked as an editor for the Party’s newspapers, including Lao Dong (Labour), Tieng noi chung ta (Our Voice), Tien len (Advance), and Thoi bao Co Giai phong (Liberation Flag Times). He was appointed to be the chair of the Bac Ky (North) Press Committee. In June, 1940, he was admitted to the Dong Duong Communist Party and sent abroad to meet comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh). In 1941, he returned to the country, taking part in activities to prepare for an armed uprising in the Cao-Bac-Lang revolutionary base. In December, 1944, Nguyen Ai Quoc assigned him the task of setting up the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army (now the Vietnam People’s Army).  In April 1945, Giap was appointed to the Bac Ky (North) Military Committee.  From May 1945, he was commander of the new armed revolutionary forces (then they were merged to be the Vietnam liberation army). In June 1945, he was assigned by Nguyen Ai Quoc to set up the provisional Commanding Committee of the liberated area. In August 1945, he was appointed to the Party Central Committee and the National Uprising Committee. At the Tran Trao National People’s Congress, he was elected to the Vietnam National Liberation Committee and Minister of Interior Affairs in the provisional government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In March 1946, he was military chairman, member of the coalition government. Then he became Secretary of the Central Military Commission when the commission was formed. In October 1946, he was Minister of Defense and authorized by President Ho Chi Minh to be Commander in Chief of the Vietnam People’s Army and Militia. In January, 1948, he was conferred the highest ranking of General, Commander in Chief of the Vietnam People’s Army. In February, 1951, he was elected to the Party Central Committee at the second National Party Congress and the Party Central Committee then elected him to the Political Bureau. From September 1955 to December 1979, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister. At the third National Party Congress in September 1960 and the fourth National Party Congress in December 1976, he was re-elected to the Party Central Committee and the Political Bureau. At the fifth and sixth National Party Congresses, he was re-elected to the Party Central Committee. From January 1980, he served as Standing Deputy Prime Minister. From April 1981 to December 1986, he was Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was a deputy of the National Assembly from the first to seventh tenures. In recognition of his great contributions to the Party and country’s revolutionary cause, General Giap was conferred with the Gold Star Order, the Ho Chi Minh Order, the 70-year Party membership badge and other noble orders and medals of Vietnam and foreign countries and organizations.