Nation bids farewell to former Party chief Le Kha Phieu

By Staff reporters August 15, 2020 | 01:32 am PT

Servicemen carry former Party chief Le Kha Phieu's coffin and picture from the National Funeral Home to the Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi, August 15, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

Former General Secretary of the Communist Party Le Kha Phieu was laid to rest at the Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi on Saturday afternoon.

Memorial services commenced at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, before burial rights were performed at the Mai Dich Cemetery starting 2 p.m.

Over 11,000 people, including representatives of other countries and organizations, have come to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and north-central Thanh Hoa Province, Phieu's hometown, since Friday to pay their respects.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and other government officials pay their respect for former Party chief Le Kha Phieu at the Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi, August 15, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Hai.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and other government officials pay their respect to former Party chief Le Kha Phieu at the Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi, August 15, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Hai.

Phieu passed away on August 7 in Hanoi. He was 89.

He served in several positions in the military between 1946 and 1992, rising to colonel general and head of the general political department of the People's Army.

Phieu was elected a member of the Party Central Committee in 1991 and then into the Secretariat, which is in charge of the Party's administrative affairs, in June 1992.

He became a member of the Politburo, the Party's decision-making body, in January 1994.

In December 1997 he was elected General Secretary of the Party, a position he held until April 2001.