Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has left many major legacies with a consistent stance: Making people a focus to serve for his entire life and career.

Trong joined the ranks of the Communist Party of Vietnam when he was a 23-year-old who just graduated from the Literature major of Hanoi General University. For 60 years ever since, he had contributed himself entirely to the causes of the Party and the people, with a lasting ambition to build a socialist state ruled by law, of the people, by the people and for the people.

That ideal followed him until even his final days. At the age of 80, Trong had been simultaneously handling the workload of the Party and receiving health treatment at the 108 Military Central Hospital, where he passed away at 1:38 p.m. on July 19.

"Trong’s consistent ideal was the people, to serve people to the best of one’s ability, to make people the focus in efforts for change," President To Lam wrote in an article on Trong's life.

Over his 57 years of dedication, Trong spent over 13 of them being the Party General Secretary, nearly three years being the state president, and two terms of being the National Assembly chairman. Trong left his marks on all aspects: politics, diplomacy and culture, and has become a model of a humble lifestyle for future generations of Party members and the people.

Keeping the furnace hot

"Over his lifetime of revolutionary works, Party development holds a special position for Trong," Lam wrote.

Trong was always concerned with the Party’s ideological works, highly regarding the practicality in order to complete the theories for Vietnam’s path towards socialism. His studies have shown themselves in over 35 books, materializing the Ho Chi Minh Thought in the Doi Moi (Reformation) era on all aspects: building socialism, fighting corruption, national defense, diplomacy and culture, etc...

Among them, one notable book is "Theoretical and Practical Issues about Socialism and the Path to Socialism in Vietnam" published in 2022, which put forth several ideological issues: What is socialism? Why must Vietnam choose the path towards socialism? How to build socialism in Vietnam step-by-step? What are the meaning and the questions posed when it comes to the reality of the efforts for change and the path towards socialism in Vietnam?

According to Trong, socialism is where true development is, as the people and economic development would go hand-in-hand with progress and social fairness; society would be compassionate, united and cooperative, heading towards progressive and humanitarian values, development must be sustainable and be in harmony with nature to ensure a clean living environment for both present and future generations, the political system must guarantee that true power belongs to the people, by the people and serves the interests of people.

For Vietnam to achieve such goals, Trong had several times stressed the key role of Party leadership and development. Individualism needs to be wiped clean, and each Party members must consider "honor as the most sacred thing."

With such ideals, when he became the Party General Secretary in 2011, one of the first reforms that he launched was a change to Party building activities. The Party Central Committee of the 11th term had issued a resolution on "Urgent issues on building the Party nowadays", which included a central mission of preventing degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle within the Party.

"Officials, Party members, the people and populace are most upset about corruption, faction-forming, group interests among certain Party members with titles and power, and even some high-ranking members of the Party and the state," Trong said.

Ever since, Trong has become a spearhead in the fight against corruption within the system. In 2013, the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption was formed, with Trong as its head. Nine years later, each province formed its own steering committee for anti-corruption, per an initiative from the central government.

The motto was "keeping the furnace hot to keep the people’s faith", and a corruption fight was launched. Trong once said that dealing with officials who had committed violations is something that no one wants. However, corruption is among the threats on the existence of the Party and the regime, so it was something that had to be done for the greater good.

From 2012 to 2022, the Central Party Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and other Party units had issued over 250 documents on building the Party and fighting corruption, along with several regulations regarding moral criteria for officials and Party members of a new era.

Several major corruption cases were busted during the period, with over 167,700 officials and Party members being disciplined, 7,390 of them due to corruption. Among 170 disciplined officials under the Central Committee, there were four members and former members of the Politburo, 29 members and former members of the Central Party Committee, and 50 general-level officials in the armed forces. Trong had proved that no one, not even the highest-ranking officials, are safe from the anti-corruption furnace.

His efforts to keep the system free from corruption not only leave a lasting mark in Vietnam, but is also acknowledged by the international community. In their condolences regarding Trong's passing, Lao leaders have commended Trong for having dedicated his all for building a Party that is strong and clean, including his anti-corruption efforts. In the book "The love and trust of the Vietnamese people and international friends for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong," U.S. President Joe Biden also commended Vietnam's anti-corruption efforts and promotion for good governance.

The fight against corruption, which has lasted for over a decade, has shown Trong's resilient leadership. However, Nguyen Trong Phuc, former head of the Party History Institution, said it was only a small part of Trong's legacy, in order to increase awareness on the path towards socialism.

"When one remembers about Trong, many people only mentioned his anti-corruption efforts, but that is not comprehensive and does not adequately reflect his full dedication. Fighting corruption is only a part of building a stronger and cleaner Party. Trong's efforts to fight the degradation of political ideology is what's fundamental," Phuc said.

Phuc said Trong has always considered a large-scale anti-corruption fight as something to be done with urgency. He wanted to fight the degradation and corruption of officials, as the degradation of political ideology and ideals may lead to the loss of the Party and the regime.

"If we can do what Trong had done, we would have a rank of officials with morals and are willing to serve, and their beneficiaries would be the people," Phuc said.

Breakthrough economic, cultural policies

In 2017, for the first time, the Central Party Committee had issued a resolution for the private economic sector. Resolution 10 aimed to develop the private sector into "an important drive of a socialist-oriented market economy." It stipulated that by 2030, there should be at least two million businesses, with the private sector contributing around 60-65% of them. This was considered a major change, as the previous era only saw the state economy as the main player. Now, the private sector has been seen as another focus.

"Trong had a major change in the way of thinking to develop the economy. It was a major landmark," said Nguyen Van Phuc, former head of the National Assembly's economic commission.

Two years later, another initiative for change was issued by the Politburo: a resolution on the orientation to perfect institutions and policies, improve the quality and effectiveness of foreign investment cooperation by 2030. While attracting foreign investment has been included in the law since 1987, a separate resolution on the topic has been issued for the first time in history under Trong's lead. Thanks to that, the government has a basis to complete and resolve flaws in the policy, Phuc said.

Trong's policies for change during his three terms of leadership have all been built based on the utilization of a unified ideological platform: developing a socialist-oriented market economy. According to Trong, such an economy needs to have several forms of property possession, as well as economic sectors that are equal under the law, that together develop, cooperate and compete with one another in a healthy way for the long-term. The state economy would still play a key role, the collective economy would continue developing, the private sector would be an important driving force of the economy, and foreign capital economy is encouraged.

In the 13 years while Trong was the Party General Secretary, GDP had quadrupled, from $104.6 billion in 2010 to $430 billion in 2023. Average per capita income also increased by over 3.6 times, from $1,168 to $4,284.5, according to the General Statistics Office.

Along with economic growth, Trong always stressed the importance of cultural reforms, as "as long as the culture lives, the people live."

Ever since he was 24, Trong had had writings about the building and development of Vietnamese culture. He regarded culture as the soul that speaks out the identity of a people, as well as an inner strength and driving force to develop and protect the country.

With such an ideology, Trong had instructed the organization of the National Cultural Conference in 2021, 75 years after the first one, which was organized in 1946. At the conference, Trong had requested authorities to build a national value system, cultural value system, family value system and the standards for Vietnamese people in the new era. This is a way to reinforce the ideological landscape and culture, contributing to the soft power and inner power to sustainably develop the country.

Even in his twilight years, Trong’s cultural works had been compiled into a 928-page book: "Building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture rich in national identity."

"The book is an intellectual and dedicated product of the Party General Secretary alone, a scientific work that is systematic, that compiles the ideas and opinions of the head of the Party on the nature of Vietnamese culture," said Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung.

Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy"

Within the country, Trong is remembered for his efforts to reform the system, as well as innovations when it comes to economic-cultural policies. But on the international stage, his name is accompanied with Vietnam’s "bamboo diplomacy" approach: strong trunks with flexible branches.

Nguyen Van Son, former head of the Central Committee for External Affairs, said the "bamboo diplomacy" approach that Trong proposed "wasn’t something spontaneous", but has been the crystallization of longtime experience, both theoretically and practically.

Over almost two decades, as the head of the Party and the state, Trong had made several trips and had received several country leaders, bolstering Vietnam’s relations with the world.

He had visited China four times, and received his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Vietnam three times. In 2022, Xi had given Trong the Friendship Medal during Trong's fourth visit to China. During Xi's most recent visit to Vietnam back in December last year, Vietnam and China had issued a joint declaration to continue to deepen and elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership, promoting the construction of a future-sharing community.

Pham Sao Mai, Vietnamese ambassador to China, said Trong had had major contributions to the Vietnam-China relations.

Trong is also the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to be received by a U.S. President at the White House back in 2015. It was a historic visit that marked a new milestone in the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the U.S. The event also opened a new chapter for the relations between Vietnam and other countries.

"In the past, the U.S. never received a head of the Communist Party of Vietnam to visit," said Hoang Binh Quan, former head of the Central Committee for External Affairs, who was tasked with preparing and serving external affairs activities for Trong over 10 years.

Before the visit, Trong had requested Quan to prepare with the mentality to "withhold the past and get past differences" in order to face towards the future. The 95-minute dialogue between Trong and then-President Barack Obama, twice as long as planned, was done with openness and friendliness.

Eight years later, during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam, relations between Vietnam and the U.S. was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with nearly 200 countries and territories. Amid the complex political landscape of the world over the last two years, Vietnam’s "bamboo diplomacy" along with its multilateral external affairs stance have shown their effectiveness. Within just nine months, Vietnam had received leaders from three major powers: U.S. President Joe Biden, China’s Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan of the Vietnamese General Consulate in San Francisco said the world is increasingly respecting Vietnam's capacity to hold its principles, maintain dialogues and bolster cooperation. The "bamboo" image is a useful diplomatic framework and metaphor, implying the ability to adapt to changing circumstances without compromising fundamental values.

"Like the bamboo that bends in the wind, we remain resolute even in the face of pressure. And like its deep roots, our diplomacy is intertwined with our history, culture and commitment for peace," Tuan said.

He said Trong’s faith and perseverance into Vietnam’s "bamboo diplomacy" has left a mark in the country’s contemporary external affairs relations. It is an important legacy in the development of a peaceful, prosperous and respected Vietnam on the global stage.

A humble life

In the memories of former head of the Party Grassroot Department under the Organization Commission of the Central Party Committee Nguyen Duc Ha, Trong’s appearance always came with the Toyota Crown 1998. This car had been provided to the National Assembly office since 1998. When he assumed the position of National Assembly chairman in 2006, Trong had continued to use the car, despite it having served his predecessor for nearly eight years.

Five years later, when he became the Party General Secretary, the car continued to be his companion to the new workplace. While the office of the Central Party Committee later proposed to change the car as the Toyota had gotten too old, Trong disagreed, saying "the car is still good." There was already a seven-seat car for faraway trips, and even planes for further trips, the Crown was only used for trips around Hanoi, so there was no need to change, Trong said.

"Changing the car would incur more costs and more money from the people," Ha cited what Trong said. Ever since then, the topic of changing cars was never brought up again.

Another memory was of Ha’s visit to Trong’s working space 11 years ago. Ha was impressed with two tall stacks of books on Trong’s table. There was a sofa in the room, attached to the work desk. Trong himself brewed the tea for his guest, and showed him out all the way to the stairs.

"I remember forever that friendliness and closeness," Ha said, adding that he has never once saw Trong being mad at anyone.

Trong is also known as someone who remembers his roots. As busy as he is, every year he spent time in his hometown at the Lai Da Village in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District, meeting his teachers and friends back in his school days.

Dang Thi Phuc, who taught Trong while he was in primary school, said he had visited her several times. In a handwritten letter to Phuc back in 2019, Trong had titled the letter "Your old student," saying that he had always remembered the memories of the time when he was taught by Phuc.

President To Lam said Trong was truly an exemplary model on morals, with a humble lifestyle and a democratic work style, a person full of love for people.

Nguyen Trong Nghia, head of the Commission for Information and Education, said Trong was an exceptional politician and thinker. His life and career was also an exemplary model of a communist soldier who dedicates himself entirely to the country and the people.

During his final days at the 108 Military Central Hospital, despite his waning health, Trong maintained his work schedule. From 9 a.m.-9:30 a.m., he would listen to his assistants reporting on work. After 10:30 a.m., he would receive Party and state leaders, and reading and studying documents.

"On July 13, he was still working, but we had to put him in ventilation in the afternoon," said Nguyen Phuong Dong, the doctor in charge of Trong’s health for several years at the hospital.

In his speeches and conversations with officials and the people, Trong had often used a quote from the "How the Steel Was Tempered" novel by Soviet author Nikolai Ostrovsky: "Man's dearest possession is life. It is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past."

Content: Viet Tuan, Pham Du
Graphics: Khanh Hoang