Do Muoi (born 1917) was made prime minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in June 1988, capping a 35-year career in the state bureaucracy. As prime minister he became increasingly identified with the forces of conservatism at the highest level of leadership. In 1991 he became secretary general of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Do Muoi retired from Communist party leadership in 1998.

In what was called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's (SRV) biggest leadership shake-up in five years, Do Muoi was elected the Communist Party's General Secretary replacing Nguyen Van Linh, 75, in 1991. The election on June 27, 1991 replaced seven of the 12 men in the ruling Politburo and a similar personnel housecleaning took place in the party Central Committee. Like Linh, Do Muoi advocated reforming the marketplace without fundamentally altering the political system. Party officials made clear that Linh was retiring because of poor health and was not being ousted. Do Muoi told...