Le Duc Tho Vietnamese politician, diplomat, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1973). Date of Birth: 14.10.1911 Country: Vietnam

1. Early Life and the Fight for Independence
2. h2. Imprisonment and Resistance
3. h2. Role in the Viet Minh and Independence
4. h2. The Geneva Accords and the Vietnam War
5. h2. The Paris Peace Negotiations
6. h2. The Nobel Prize and the Aftermath
7. h2. Later Years

Early Life and the Fight for Independence

Le Duc Tho, a pivotal Vietnamese politician and diplomat, was born in Namke province, Northern Vietnam, as Phan Dinh Khai. His father's affiliation with the colonial administration granted him and his siblings access to education, leading Le Duc Tho to pursue a career as a radio telegraphist.

During his youth, Vietnam was under French colonial rule. Inspired by the fight for independence, Le Duc Tho joined the youthful revolutionary movement in 1928, adopting the pseudonym Le Duc Tho. He fearlessly led protests against the French, and in 1930, he co-founded the Indochinese Communist Party under Ho Chi Minh's leadership.

h2. Imprisonment and Resistance

Le Duc Tho's resistance earned him a sentence of forced labor on the prison island Poulo Condor (now Con Son). Upon his release in 1936, he led the communist information agency in Nam Dinh, North Vietnam. With support from the Soviet Union and China, Vietnamese communists fought a guerrilla war against the French.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Le Duc Tho faced another imprisonment in Nam Dinh. From his prison cell, he penned powerful letters expressing his determination to fight against the imperialist oppressors.

h2. Role in the Viet Minh and Independence

Accounts of Le Duc Tho's whereabouts during the Japanese occupation (1940-1945) are conflicting. Some claim that he remained imprisoned in Son La, while others suggest he escaped to China in 1940 and helped Ho Chi Minh establish the Viet Minh, a coalition aimed at overthrowing the Japanese and securing Vietnamese independence.

After Japan's surrender in 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent and became its president. Le Duc Tho joined the government and the Communist Party's Standing Committee. When France attempted to regain control of Vietnam in 1946, the liberation war resumed. Le Duc Tho became the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Southern Vietnam, leading the resistance.

h2. The Geneva Accords and the Vietnam War

After eight years of guerrilla warfare, the Viet Minh defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, forcing them to withdraw from Vietnam. The Geneva Conference in 1954 divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh leading the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in the North and Bao Dai, the former emperor, in charge of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) in the South.

Le Duc Tho returned to North Vietnam in 1955 and became part of the newly reorganized Workers' Party of Vietnam's Politburo. By 1960, he emerged as the Central Committee's Secretary, solidifying his position among the most powerful North Vietnamese leaders.

h2. The Paris Peace Negotiations

Following the failure of the 1956 elections to unify Vietnam, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (the Viet Cong) launched a guerrilla war against the government of South Vietnam's president, Ngo Dinh Diem. With communist influence within the Viet Cong increasing, the United States provided military and economic support to Diem's regime.

Le Duc Tho's role in North Vietnam's involvement in the war remains unclear. According to some accounts, he advocated for the DRV's participation. In 1967, he was reportedly responsible for managing the Southern front. His unwavering stance for complete reunification drew criticism from other party members, leading him to conduct a "purge campaign" in 1972, resulting in the execution of thousands of opponents.

Meanwhile, facing domestic opposition to the Vietnam War, President Johnson initiated peace talks in 1968. Le Duc Tho arrived in Paris as a special advisor on June 3rd. Negotiations expanded under President Nixon's administration, including representatives from South Vietnam and the Viet Cong. However, the involvement of multiple parties reduced the likelihood of a successful outcome.

DRVs demand for a cease-fire included the withdrawal of US troops and the replacement of Nguyen Van Thieu (Diem's successor) with a communist-inclusive provisional government. Simultaneously, Le Duc Tho and Henry Kissinger commenced secret talks in Paris on August 4th, 1969.

h2. The Nobel Prize and the Aftermath

Kissinger described Le Duc Tho in his memoirs as "unyielding," representing the "world of moral truth," and unwilling to compromise. The secret negotiations dragged on for three years, with neither side willing to make concessions. Finally, on January 27th, 1973, Le Duc Tho and Kissinger reached an agreement.

The agreement acknowledged Thieu's government's sovereignty over territories held by South Vietnamese forces and established the National Council of Reconciliation to organize elections. The US agreed to withdraw its troops, and other provisions included prisoner exchange and the monitoring of the cease-fire by a quadripartite commission.

Le Duc Tho and Kissinger were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for their contributions to the cease-fire. However, the award sparked controversy. The cease-fire did not come into effect, and the Vietnam War continued. Two Nobel Committee members resigned in protest, and global press reaction was largely critical. Le Duc Tho himself even refused the prize, condemning the US and South Vietnam for violating the Paris accords.

h2. Later Years

Le Duc Tho's personal life remains largely unknown. He reportedly had two marriages. According to the New York Times, he lived a "life of ascetic puritanism and strict morality required by the revolutionary Vietnamese ethic." Calm, serious, and determined at the negotiating table, he was described by Kissinger as "always correct," with impeccable manners, and "large, glistening eyes revealing only a hint of the fanaticism that had drawn him to the communist guerrillas as a 16-year-old boy."

In December 1986, Le Duc Tho was dismissed from the Politburo, and his younger brothers rose to high positions in the party. The promotion of family members raised concerns about nepotism within the ranks.

Le Duc Tho remains an enigmatic figure in history, a strategist and diplomat whose role in the fight for Vietnamese independence and the complexities of the Vietnam War continues to be debated.