Võ Văn Kiệt

Võ Văn Kiệt (Vietnamese: [vɔ̌ˀ vāŋ kîək]; 23 November 1922 – 11 June 2008) whose real name is Phan Văn Hòa, and includes aliases Sáu Dân, Chín Dũng, Chín Hòa, Tám Thuận. Was a Vietnamese politician and economic reformer who served as the Prime Minister of Vietnam from 1991 to 1997. A well regarded Vietnamese revolutionary and political leader, Kiệt was a veteran fighter in the long wars against the French colonialists and then the South Vietnamese and American forces during the Vietnam War.

He held key political positions in the South, and during the Second Indochina War, Võ Văn Kiệt was the senior political officer commanding the Saigon district and headquartered in the Củ Chi tunnels. His wife and children were killed when a US plane rocketed a passenger ferry carrying 200 passengers along the Saigon River.

In the difficult post-war years, he was one of the most prominent reformist leaders that led the Đổi mới (lit: Innovation) policy in Vietnam since 1986. His premiership (1991–1997) saw the country's return to the world arena after decades of war and isolation. He is considered as the "general engineer" of many bold projects of the Doi Moi period.

Kiệt, who played a driving role in the economic reform process in Vietnam that began in the mid-1980s, is exactly what United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon once assessed, "Võ Văn Kiệt paved the way for the transformation of Vietnam from poverty to a decade of impressive economic growth." The five years of the 6th Party Congress (December 1986) to the 7th Congress (June 1991) were the time of the debate. Conflict and struggle at different levels, and areas between the two trends of returning to the old subsidized bureaucratic mechanism or decisively breaking up with it.