Vietnam to lay Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to rest next week

A special press release on the state funeral for Trong, who died on Friday, was issued by the Central Party Committee, the National Assembly, President To Lam, the government and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front on Saturday.

Trong will lie in state at the National Funeral Home at 5 Tran Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi. Mourners can pay their respect from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 25, and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 26. A memorial ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on July 26, and he will be buried at the Mai Dich Cemetery at 3 p.m. the same day.

During the two days of state mourning, offices and public places will fly the national flag at half-mast, and all public entertainment events will be suspended.

The funeral committee has 35 people, with President To Lam as the committee head. Other members include Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly chairman Tran Thanh Man, along with representatives of several ministries and sectors.

The funerary organization committee has 27 people, with Permanent Member of the Secretariat Luong Cuong as the committee head. Two deputy heads of the committee are Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai and office head of the Central Party Committee Nguyen Duy Ngoc.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong passed away due to old age and serious illness at 1:38 p.m. on Friday in Hanoi, aged 80.

In his career spanning 60 years, Trong had “many major, exceptional contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the people,” The Central Party Committee, the National Assembly, President To Lam, the government and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front said in the statement.

He was awarded the Gold Star Order and the 55-year Party membership badge by Vietnam’s Communist Party and the state, along with other international awards such as the National Gold Medal by the Lao President, the Friendship Medal by the Chinese Party and state, the Lenin Award which is the most prestigious award by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and the Jose Marti Badge of the Cuban Party and state.

Biography of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Graphics by Pham Du, Dang Hieu