Le Duc Anh

Lê Đức Anh was a Vietnamese politician and general who served as the fifth President of Vietnam from 1992 to 1997. He previously led the Vietnamese forces in Cambodia throughout the 1980s. He was regarded as a conservative who advocated maintaining tight party control over domestic policies. His early life and military career began in Phú Lộc District in Thừa Thiên–Huế Province. In August 1945, he joined the army and held various positions, including chief of staff of the 7th Military Region, 8th Military Region, and administrative region of Saigon – Cho Lon. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff, acting Chief of Staff of Cochinchina, and Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. His participation in the August Revolution 1945, which led to the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), marked the beginning of his military service in the North Vietnamese People's Army. He was a political officer in a battalion and then in the 301st Regiment. He took part in the Indochina War and after the Indochina Conference in 1954 in Geneva, he was an officer in the General Staff of the People's Army and promoted to colonel in 1958.