Comrade Do Muoi: A man with a straightforward and democratic working manner

Those who had an opportunity to meet and work with comrade Do Muoi will have unforgettable memories of his ideology, characteristics and his straightforward and democratic manner at work and in daily life, wrote Vu Khoan, former member of Party Central Committee and former Deputy Prime Minister.

Welcoming ceremony for Party General Secretary Do Muoi in his visit to New Zealand in July 1995 (Photo: VNA)
Welcoming ceremony for Party General Secretary Do Muoi in his visit to New Zealand in July 1995 (Photo: VNA)

In an article written in commemoration of the former Party leader, Vu Khoan revealed that he and his colleagues heard a lot of stories about the enthusiasm and endeavour of comrade Do Muoi while the latter was serving as Minister of Domestic Trade.

Through his experience working with the former Party chief, Vu Khoan recognised that comrade Do Muoi was the symbol of a passionate leader, a gifted organiser, and a sincere man who was eager to learn new things and listen to others.

Throughout his life dedicated to national liberation, development and defence, in any position, he always showed a source of boundless energy and burning enthusiasm as he kept close a watch on the implementations of the works in process.

Comrade Do Muoi was assigned as the “commander-in-chief” of many key areas and major projects of the country in both wartime and peace. He significantly contributed to completing the Party’s guidelines on the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, which was marked with the adoption of the Political Platform on building the country in the transitional period toward socialism in 1991.

During his time in office, comrade Do Muoi made great contributions to helping the country escape from the severe socio-economic crisis and recorded the highest GDP growth rate in history at 8.2% annually from 1991 to 1995, and maintained an annual growth rate of 7.0% in the following five years.

Comrade Do Muoi made a strong request for promoting national self-reliance rather than calling for aid and support from outside. During the working session of the eighth National Party Congress when a number of Asian countries and territories thrived into “dragons” or “tigers”, many delegates supported the import-led strategy. However, following comrade Do Muoi, the congress concluded with a guideline on persisting with the export-led strategy and replacing foreign imports with domestically produced products.

That does not mean that comrade Do Muoi was a supporter of the "closed-door" policy since the open foreign policy of diversification, multilateralisation and international economic integration was born during the time he worked as the Party chief.

The 1991 Political Platform, documents related to the seventh and eighth National Party Congresses, a number of resolutions of the Party Central Committee and the Politburo, as well as strategic adjustments in external relations, such as the normalisation of relations and establishment of relationships with foreign countries and international organisations, and Vietnam’s membership to ASEAN and ASEM were among the strong evidence of comrade Do Muoi’s vision.

Having the fortune to accompany comrade Do Muoi during a number of working trips abroad and receptions for foreign guests, Vu Khoan appreciated the former Party leader’s openness and friendliness towards international friends since comrade Do Muoi always focused his talks on substantial issues relating to bilateral cooperation of Vietnam, as well as lessons to be learnt from foreign countries.

He also exercised a simple and humble lifestyle in his daily life.

Bidding farewell to former Party General Secretary Do Muoi, Vu Khoan stressed that the entire Party and people will always remember his dedication to Vietnam’s revolutionary cause.