Nguyen Huu Tho

Born July 10, 1910, in Cholon, South Vietnam. Vietnamese political figure.

The son of an official, Nguyen Huu Tho became a lawyer, obtaining his legal education in France. While living in French-occupied territory during the Vietnamese People’s War of Resistance (1945–54), he took a vigorous part in patriotic activities among the progressive intelligentsia and served as defense counsel at many trials of combatants in the war and other patriots. Nguyen Huu Tho was a leader of the mass anti-American demonstration that took place in Saigon in March 1950. In 1954 he helped found the Peace Movement, a progressive democratic organization in the Saigon-Cholon region, and was elected its vice-president.

Nguyen Huu Tho was twice arrested for his patriotic activities and was imprisoned from 1950 to 1952 and from 1954 to 1961. He was chairman of the Central Committee of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NFLSV) from 1962 to 1964 and was chairman of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the NFLSV from 1964. From 1969 to 1976 he was chairman of the Consultative Council of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. Since 1976 he has been vice-president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.