General Phung Quang Thanh passes away after illness

General Phung Quang Thanh, born in 1949, former Politburo member and Defence Minister, passed away at 3:45 am on September 11, 2021 at his home.

General Phung Quang Thanh. (Photo: EPA)
General Phung Quang Thanh. (Photo: EPA)

According to the Central Committee on Health Care for Senior Governmental Officials, General Phung Quang Thanh, after a period of illness being cared by the Party, the State, doctors and his family, passed away at 3:45 am on September 11 at his home No. 10, lane 9, Nguyen Tri Phuong street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi.

The memorial services and burial ceremony for General Phung Quang Thanh will be announced later.

General Phung Quang Thanh was born on February 2, 1949 in Thach Da commune, Me Linh district, Vinh Phuc province.

He was a member of the 9th, 10th and 11th Party Central Committee and Member of the Politburo of the 10th and 11th Party Central Committee and deputy of the 11th, 12th, and 13th National Assembly. He was awarded the rank of General in July 2007.

His military career is a shining example of a heroic fighting spirit, resilience and will to rise up.

At the 10th National Party Congress in 2006, he was elected to the Party Central Committee and to the Politburo and assigned as Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Defence Minister.

At the 11th National Party Congress in 2011, he was re-elected to the Party Central Committee and the Politburo and assigned as Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission. At the first session of the 13th National Assembly, General Phung Quang Thanh was approved by the National Assembly to continue to hold the position of Minister of National Defence.

At the 11th session of the 13th National Assembly in April 2016, the National Assembly approved the dismissal of Phung Quang Thanh as Minister of National Defence.

With many contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the development and growth of the Army, comrade Phung Quang Thanh was honoured with Hero of the People's Armed Forces title and many other noble titles.