Former Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh passes away
VOV.VN - Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, former Deputy Minister of National Defense, passed away on September 14 at the age of 66 after a period of combatting illness.
Vinh, hailing from Thua Thien-Hue province, central Vietnam, was son of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, late head of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People’s Army.
The military intelligence expert was a professor and Doctor of Philosophy in international relations. He held several positions in the General Department of Defense Intelligence before being elected Deputy Minister of National Defense in 2009.
He was elected to the Party Central Committee in the 11th and 12th tenures, and retired in late 2021.
During his 12 years serving as Deputy Minister of National Defense, Vinh made practical contributions to promoting the development of Vietnam’s defense diplomacy, including sending forces to UN peacekeeping missions and organizing a series of ASEAN defense meetings.
The former Deputy Defense Minister frankly made comments on a number of thorny issues, including the East Sea issue. He affirmed that powerful countries must respect ASEAN’s rules of the game and no one can force Vietnam to take sides.
The Party and State have presented the Senior Lieutenant General many noble awards in recognition of his contributions to national development and defense. He was also honoured with noble distinctions by Cambodia, Russia, Cuba and Japan.
