I.

Introduction

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), Vietnamese Communist leader, who was the first president (1945-1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the principal force behind the Vietnamese struggle against French colonial rule after World War II (1939-1945).

Ho’s childhood name was Nguyen Sinh Cung, but in accordance with Vietnamese custom, he received a new name, Nguyen Tat Thanh, at the age of 10. Ho was born in the village of Kim Liên in Annam, a region that now makes up central Vietnam. At the time, Vietnam was part of a French colony known as the Indochinese Union, or French Indochina, although it remained under the nominal rule of an emperor. Ho’s father served as an official at the Vietnamese imperial court, but French authorities eventually dismissed him for criticizing French domination of his country. As an adolescent, Ho attended a French-run school in Hue. Expelled for rebellious activities in 1908, he then briefly taught at a private school in Phan Thiet. In 1911 Ho signed on as a cook for a French steamship liner, and then worked in the United States and London, England. It was while living abroad that Ho evidently became acquainted with the ideas of German political theorist Karl Marx, which form the basis of communism.