Special flag-raising ceremony at Ba Dinh Square to mark 135th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh

President Ho Chi Minh was a great patriot and a visionary who paved the way for Viet Nam's national liberation. He was a model revolutionary, devoting his entire life to the cause of the nation and its people.

Throughout his revolutionary career, the President strived for the goal of national independence, building a strong nation and a democratic, just, and civilised society—where all people enjoy freedom, well-being, and happiness.

Born in a patriotic Confucian family and witnessing the hardships of a colonised nation, young Nguyen Sinh Cung—later known as Nguyen Tat Thanh—harboured a deep and burning desire from an early age to liberate his nation.

In 1911, with unwavering determination, the young man named Nguyen Tat Thanh, who later became the beloved President Ho Chi Minh of the Vietnamese people, under the name of Van Ba, got on the French ship Amiral Latouche Tréville to depart Nha Rong Wharf in then Sai Gon, starting a 30-year odyssey to seek a path for saving the country from colonialism. 

He declared “I want to go abroad, to see France and other countries. After seeing how they do things, I would return to help our people.” Over the three decades traveling across Asia, Europe, Africa, and even the Americas, he was exposed to the ideals of Marxism-Leninism and identified the path to national liberation for Viet Nam. He firmly stated that “To save the homeland and liberate the people, there is no other way than the path of proletarian revolution.”

The first great milestone of the Vietnamese revolutionary cause under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh was the historic victory of the August Revolution in 1945, which led to the founding of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam). In the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh solemnly declared to the world that: “Viet Nam has the right to be a free and independent country and that in fact it is so already. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilise all their physical and mental strengths, and sacrifice their lives and property to safeguard their independence and liberty.”

That choice led to a historic milestone on February 3, 1930, under the leadership of Nguyen Ai Quoc, the Communist Party of Viet Nam was founded, marking the convergence of advanced revolutionary theory and patriotic movements in Viet Nam, ushering in a new period for the nation’s revolution.

He clearly defined our Party as a revolutionary party of both the working class and the entire Vietnamese nation. As its founder and leader, Nguyen Ai Quoc directly led the Vietnamese revolutionary movement, guiding it firmly moving forward on the path of national liberation struggle.

President Ho Chi Minh laid the foundation for building a new kind of state — the state of the people, by the people, and for the people. He consistently emphasised that “The people are the root of the nation.” This viewpoint was not only reflected in his ideology but also in his lifestyle and leadership style. He urged cadres and Party members to stay close to the people, understand them, listen to them, and serve them wholeheartedly. He stressed: “Maintaining close ties with the people and always listening to their opinions are the foundation of the Party’s strength, and thank to this strength, the Party achieves victory.”

The life of President Ho Chi Minh is a great epic of wholehearted devotion to national independence, and freedom and happiness of the people. He not only made history but also left a priceless spiritual legacy for the Vietnamese nation. His ideology, ethics, and lifestyle will forever serve as a guiding light for the cause of national construction and defence today and in the future./.