(b. 1922), Vietnamese prime minister. Vo Van Kiet, considered a leading reformer, was born in 1922 in the city of Can Tho in southern Vietnam. He became involved in anticolonial and revolutionary activities in the 1940s. Following the August Revolution of 1945, Vo Van Kiet became an important member of the Vietnam Communist Party in southern Vietnam. In the early 1970s, he served as secretary of the Saigon Municipal Party Committee. After reunification in 1975, he was named chairman of Ho Chi Minh City's People's Committee and in 1976 replaced Nguyen Van Linh as chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, a position he held until 1982. During this time, Vo Van Kiet established more liberal trade and commercial policies, which later became part of Vietnam's doi moi period. He became a member of the Politburo in 1982. He was named acting prime minister following the death of Pham Hung (1912–1988) but was defeated in an election for that post later that year. He was vice premier and chairman of the State Planning Commission in 1986 and then served as prime minister from 1992 to 1997. In 1997 he chose not to run for office and was replaced by Phan Van Khai (b. 1933).
Further Reading
Duiker, William J. (1995) Vietnam: Revolution in Transition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Kolko, Gabriel. (1997) Vietnam: Anatomy of a Peace. London: Routledge.
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