Nguyen Thi Dinh

Born 1920, in the commune of Luong Hoa, Giong Trom District, Bien Che Province (present-day Kien Hoa Province), South Vietnam. Leading figure in the national liberation movement of the Vietnamese people.

A peasant’s daughter, Nguyen Thi Dinh joined the revolutionary movement at the age of 18. In 1939 she was arrested, remaining in prison until 1943. She took an active part in the August Revolution of 1945 in Vietnam. During the Vietnamese People’s War of Resistance (1945–54), she held leading positions in the Women’s Association for National Salvation, which was active during the 1940’s and 1950’s, and in the Lien Viet (United Vietnam National Front).

In January 1950, Nguyen Thi Dinh led an antigovernment uprising in Bien Che Province. In 1961 she became chairman of the Women’s Union for the Liberation of South Vietnam and deputy commander in chief of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, and in 1964 she became a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. In 1976 she became chairman of the Women’s Union of Vietnam and deputy minister for Social Security and War-disabled Persons of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Nguyen Thi Dinh received the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Between Nations in 1968. [17–1134–4; updated]