President Tran Dai Quang (R) welcomed US President Donald Trump on November 12, 2017 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - President Tran DaiQuang signed a letter to Vietnamese children on the occasion of the Mid-AutumnFestival. He did not know that it would be his last signature.
President Quang was admitted to the Military CentralHospital 108 on the afternoon of the same day. He went into a coma at around5pm and never woke up.
On the previous day, he had two receptions: at3:30pm, he hosted Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of China ZhouQiang. At 4:30pm, he met with heads of delegations to the 14th Assembly of theAsian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI 14).
“In the first meeting, he looked paler than onmost days, but he still smiled when talking to the guest. But as he walked intothe second meeting, he couldn’t hide his tiredness,” said Duong Dung, who wasthe Vietnam News Agency reporter who had been exclusively covering thePresident’s activities for the past 29 months.
Nguyen Quoc Trieu, former health minister andhead of a national committee in charge of leaders’ health, told media that PresidentQuang was afflicted by a serious disease for which doctors have found no cureyet. The President fell sick in July 2017 and had traveledto Japan six times for treatment.
President Quang was born in 1956 in Quang Thien commune,Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province, about 100km south of Hanoi. In the eyesof people in his hometown, the President was a tough person.
Cao Hoang Dang, 63, President Quang’s childhoodfriend, said although the State leader was born into a poor family, he nevercomplained about it.
“His father died early so their family life washarder than others’. After school, he would rush to the fields to work,” Dangsaid.
Later on, he gained success in his studies andcareer, holding high-ranking positions, but he was still a simple person thatlocal residents had known for a long time, Dang said.
Vu Xuan Sinh, principle of the Kim Son B HighSchool in Kim Son district, said the President had paid great attention toencouraging local students.
“In 2014, when he was the Minister of PublicSecurity, he came to visit the school and found out our school facilities weredegraded. He then donated funds himself and asked many other philanthropists todonate to the upgrading of the school,” Sinh said.
Le Tien Toan, a teacher at the Kim Son B HighSchool, said he was touched by how his old student treated him.
Toan recently had a heart attack and had to behospitalised in Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital. Worried about his health when theprocedure was complicated, his daughter contacted the President and asked forhelp.
“President Quang helped me a lot with theprocedures and even gave me some gift. He was such a loving person and I am soproud to have a student like him,” Toan said.
“Simple” and “down-to-earth” were also the wordsthat many people who knew the leader would use to describe him. Duong Dung, theVietnam News Agency’s reporter, said that President Quang was an open, friendlyand caring person, contradicting Dung’s initial expectations for how a head ofstate would behave.
“He would always find time to talk to us inbetween activities and sometimes even joked and called us his comrades,” Dungsaid.
But President Quang was also a tough andconfident person when it came to State activities, according to Tran Viet Thai,Deputy Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies underthe Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
“He paid a lot of attention to the country’sforeign affairs, and he was a leader with a strategic vision and a confidentand decisive manner,” Thai said.
President Quang made a good impression oninternational friends when he successfully hosted many diplomatic activitieslast year when Vietnam hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Forum 2017, Thai said.
“I was mostly impressed with his manner andstamina when hosting foreign heads of states from the UnitedStates, Russia and China. He was so confident yet flexible whenreceiving US President Donald Trump and General Secretary of the CommunistParty of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping,” hesaid.
Thai also recalled how hard President Quangworked during the 2017 event, when he had to travel back and forth continuouslyfrom the capital to Da Nang.
“He always put great efforts in the things hedid and worked tirelessly until the last minute. He directly chaired andorganised many important diplomatic activities during this event and greatlycontributed to the success of the summit,” Thai said.
“He was also loved and respected by so manypeople working in the diplomatic sector for his down-to-earth and caringcharacter,” Thai said.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minhalso shared his memories of the President on his Facebook page.
Minh said that in a working session with aVietnamese delegation from the Ministry of National Defence, Cambodian PrimeMinister Hun Sen said that President Quang was one of the soldiers whovolunteered to come and fight with his Cambodian comrades in 1979 to push theKhmer Rouge from Phnom Penh.
And President Quang was also remembered bythe Cambodia Prime Minister for having help cut his hair five times,according Minh.
The President graduated from thePeople’s Police University and the School of ForeignLanguages under the Ministry of Home Affairs, now the Ministry of PublicSecurity.
He served as Deputy Minister of Public Securityfrom 2006 to August 2011, and Minister from August 2011 to March 2016. Heassumed office as the President on April 2, 2016.
President Quang will be buried in his home villagein northern Ninh Binh province after a state funeral in Hanoi.-VNS/VNA
President Quang was admitted to the Military CentralHospital 108 on the afternoon of the same day. He went into a coma at around5pm and never woke up.
On the previous day, he had two receptions: at3:30pm, he hosted Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of China ZhouQiang. At 4:30pm, he met with heads of delegations to the 14th Assembly of theAsian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI 14).
“In the first meeting, he looked paler than onmost days, but he still smiled when talking to the guest. But as he walked intothe second meeting, he couldn’t hide his tiredness,” said Duong Dung, who wasthe Vietnam News Agency reporter who had been exclusively covering thePresident’s activities for the past 29 months.
Nguyen Quoc Trieu, former health minister andhead of a national committee in charge of leaders’ health, told media that PresidentQuang was afflicted by a serious disease for which doctors have found no cureyet. The President fell sick in July 2017 and had traveledto Japan six times for treatment.
President Quang was born in 1956 in Quang Thien commune,Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province, about 100km south of Hanoi. In the eyesof people in his hometown, the President was a tough person.
Cao Hoang Dang, 63, President Quang’s childhoodfriend, said although the State leader was born into a poor family, he nevercomplained about it.
“His father died early so their family life washarder than others’. After school, he would rush to the fields to work,” Dangsaid.
Later on, he gained success in his studies andcareer, holding high-ranking positions, but he was still a simple person thatlocal residents had known for a long time, Dang said.
Vu Xuan Sinh, principle of the Kim Son B HighSchool in Kim Son district, said the President had paid great attention toencouraging local students.
“In 2014, when he was the Minister of PublicSecurity, he came to visit the school and found out our school facilities weredegraded. He then donated funds himself and asked many other philanthropists todonate to the upgrading of the school,” Sinh said.
Le Tien Toan, a teacher at the Kim Son B HighSchool, said he was touched by how his old student treated him.
Toan recently had a heart attack and had to behospitalised in Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital. Worried about his health when theprocedure was complicated, his daughter contacted the President and asked forhelp.
“President Quang helped me a lot with theprocedures and even gave me some gift. He was such a loving person and I am soproud to have a student like him,” Toan said.
“Simple” and “down-to-earth” were also the wordsthat many people who knew the leader would use to describe him. Duong Dung, theVietnam News Agency’s reporter, said that President Quang was an open, friendlyand caring person, contradicting Dung’s initial expectations for how a head ofstate would behave.
“He would always find time to talk to us inbetween activities and sometimes even joked and called us his comrades,” Dungsaid.
But President Quang was also a tough andconfident person when it came to State activities, according to Tran Viet Thai,Deputy Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies underthe Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
“He paid a lot of attention to the country’sforeign affairs, and he was a leader with a strategic vision and a confidentand decisive manner,” Thai said.
President Quang made a good impression oninternational friends when he successfully hosted many diplomatic activitieslast year when Vietnam hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Forum 2017, Thai said.
“I was mostly impressed with his manner andstamina when hosting foreign heads of states from the UnitedStates, Russia and China. He was so confident yet flexible whenreceiving US President Donald Trump and General Secretary of the CommunistParty of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping,” hesaid.
Thai also recalled how hard President Quangworked during the 2017 event, when he had to travel back and forth continuouslyfrom the capital to Da Nang.
“He always put great efforts in the things hedid and worked tirelessly until the last minute. He directly chaired andorganised many important diplomatic activities during this event and greatlycontributed to the success of the summit,” Thai said.
“He was also loved and respected by so manypeople working in the diplomatic sector for his down-to-earth and caringcharacter,” Thai said.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minhalso shared his memories of the President on his Facebook page.
Minh said that in a working session with aVietnamese delegation from the Ministry of National Defence, Cambodian PrimeMinister Hun Sen said that President Quang was one of the soldiers whovolunteered to come and fight with his Cambodian comrades in 1979 to push theKhmer Rouge from Phnom Penh.
And President Quang was also remembered bythe Cambodia Prime Minister for having help cut his hair five times,according Minh.
The President graduated from thePeople’s Police University and the School of ForeignLanguages under the Ministry of Home Affairs, now the Ministry of PublicSecurity.
He served as Deputy Minister of Public Securityfrom 2006 to August 2011, and Minister from August 2011 to March 2016. Heassumed office as the President on April 2, 2016.
President Quang will be buried in his home villagein northern Ninh Binh province after a state funeral in Hanoi.-VNS/VNA
VNA
