Hồ Chí Minh (/ˈhoʊ ˈtʃiː ˈmɪn/;[4]
Northern Vietnamese pronunciation: [ho̞˧˩ t͡ɕi˧˥ mɪŋ˧] ( listen),
Southern Vietnamese pronunciation: [ho̞˧˩ t͡ɕɪj˧ mɪ̈n˧] ( listen); 19 May 1890 –
2 September 1969), born Nguyễn
Sinh Côn,[5][
6][7] or
Nguyễn Sinh Cung, also known as Nguyễn Tất Thành and
Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a
Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (
1945–55) and president (1945–69) of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (
North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the
People's Army of Vietnam (
PAVN) and the
Việt Cộng (
NLF or VC) during the
Vietnam War.
He led the Việt Minh independence movement from
1941 onward, establishing the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the
French Union in 1954 at the battle of
Điện Biên Phủ. He officially stepped down from power in
1965 due to health problems, but remained a highly visible figurehead and inspiration for those Vietnamese fighting for his cause—a united, communist
Vietnam—until his death.
After the war,
Saigon, the former capital of the
Republic of Vietnam, was renamed
Hồ Chí Minh City; however, the name Saigon is still very widely used.
In
1911, while working as the cook's helper on a ship, Nguyễn traveled to the
United States. From 1912–13, he lived in
New York City (
Harlem) and
Boston, where he worked as a baker at the
Parker House Hotel. Among a series of menial jobs, he claimed to have worked for a wealthy family in
Brooklyn between
1917–18, and for
General Motors as a line manager. It is believed that, while in the United States, he made contact with
Korean nationalists, an experience that developed his political outlook.
At various points between 1913 and
1919, Nguyễn lived in
West Ealing, and later in
Crouch End,
Hornsey. He reportedly worked as either a chef or dish washer [reports vary] at the Drayton
Court Hotel in West Ealing.[11] It is claimed that Nguyễn trained as a pastry chef under
Auguste Escoffier at the
Carlton Hotel in the
Haymarket,
Westminster, but there is no evidence to support this.[
10][12] However, the wall of
New Zealand House, home of the
New Zealand High Commission, which now stands on the site of the Carlton Hotel, displays a blue plaque, stating that Nguyễn worked there in 1913 as a waiter. Nguyễn was also employed as a pastry boy on the
Newhaven–Dieppe ferry route in 1913.
From 1919–23, while living in
France, Nguyễn began to show an interest in politics, being influenced by his friend and
Socialist Party of France comrade
Marcel Cachin. Nguyễn claimed to have arrived in
Paris from
London in 1917, but the
French police only had documents recording his arrival in June 1919.[10] He joined a group of Vietnamese nationalists in Paris whose leaders were
Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Văn Trường, bearing a new name Nguyễn Ái Quốc ("Nguyễn the
Patriot").
Following World War I, the group petitioned for recognition of the civil rights of the
Vietnamese people in
French Indochina to the
Western powers at the
Versailles peace talks, but was ignored.[15] Citing the language and the spirit of the
U.S. Declaration of Independence, they expected
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to help remove the
French colonial rule from Vietnam and ensure the formation of a new, nationalist government. Although they were unable to obtain consideration at
Versailles, the failure further radicalized Nguyễn, while also making him a
symbol of the anti-colonial movement at home in Vietnam.[16]
In
1920, Nguyễn became a representative to the
Congress of Tours of the Socialist Party of France, Quốc voted for the
Third International and a founding member of the
Parti Communiste Français (
FCP).
Taking a position in the
Colonial Committee of the
PCF, he tried to draw his comrades' attention towards people in
French colonies including Indochina, but his efforts were often unsuccessful. During this period he began to write journal articles and short stories as well as running his Vietnamese nationalist group. In May
1922, Nguyễn wrote an article for a
French magazine criticizing the use of
English words by French sportswriters.[17] The article implored
Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré to outlaw such Franglais as le manager, le round and le knock-out. While living in Paris, he reportedly had a relationship with a dressmaker named
Marie Brière.
In 1923, Nguyễn (Ho) left Paris for
Moscow, where he was employed by the
Comintern, studied at the Communist
University of the Toilers of the
East,[18][19] and participated in the
Fifth Comintern
Congress in June 1924, before arriving in
Canton (present-day
Guangzhou), China, in
November 1924.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh
- published: 03 Feb 2015
- views: 30512