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Countries · Southeast Asia
Politics · Business · Athletes · CultureVietnam
83 lives connecting anticolonial revolution and state-building with Đổi Mới enterprise, Olympic firsts, painting, literature, spiritual practice, cinema and music.
Country archive
Vietnam’s modern history can be followed through people who negotiated empire, war and reunification, then built new companies, sporting ambitions and cultural forms within a rapidly integrating economy.
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Politics
Monarchy, anticolonial revolution, rival republics, wartime diplomacy, party institutions and postwar reform.
Explore Politics - 02
Business
Private enterprise emerging from Đổi Mới through technology, retail, manufacturing, industrial parks, aviation, hospitality and consumer brands.
Explore Business - 03
Athletes
Olympic breakthroughs, regional swimming dominance and the football moments that became shared national memory.
Explore Athletes - 04
Culture
Painting, literature, Buddhist thought, classical performance, cinema and Vietnamese-language pop moving across generations and borders.
Explore Culture
History guides
Vietnam’s turning points, from history to sport
Move from colonial war, division and reunification through economic renovation, national infrastructure, diplomatic normalization, enterprise reform and WTO membership, then follow the men’s 2018 regional title and the women’s first World Cup.
Curated paths
Vietnam within wider stories
Follow political transition, business building, reform leadership, women’s public lives, creative influence, football and Olympic development through focused collections.
All Vietnam biographies
83 lives in the archive
Browse the complete country collection or refine the directory by country, field, name, office, company, sport or achievement.
1921–1998
Nguyễn Cơ Thạch
Vietnamese diplomat and former foreign ministerNguyễn Cơ Thạch served as Vietnam’s foreign minister during the 1980s and helped connect diplomatic negotiations with the country’s efforts to reopen international dialogue.Read biography
1959—
Phạm Bình Minh
Former Vietnamese foreign minister and deputy prime ministerPhạm Bình Minh developed a diplomatic career through bilateral and multilateral assignments before serving as Vietnam’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister.Read biography
1976—
Nguyễn Ngọc Tư
Vietnamese short-story writer and novelistNguyễn Ngọc Tư writes about rural lives, fragile attachments and displacement in southern Vietnam, moving from short stories rooted in the Mekong Delta into longer fiction.Read biography
Born 1947
Dương Thu Hương
Vietnamese novelist and former political prisonerDương Thu Hương’s fiction explores family loyalties, war, artistic compromise and ideology, alongside a public history of criticism, detention and life in France.Read biography
1957–
Tô Lâm
Vietnamese Communist Party leader and state presidentTô Lâm is a Vietnamese politician who rose through public security before becoming Communist Party general secretary and serving two separate presidential terms, with concurrent party and state leadership from April 2026.Read biography
1975–
Mỹ Linh
Vietnamese vocalist, recording artist and music teacherMỹ Linh is a Vietnamese singer whose career combines conservatory vocal training, popular recordings, long-running studio collaborations and music education. Her repertoire ranges from Vietnamese song to pop arrangements drawing on classical music.Read biography
1987–
Lê Cát Trọng Lý
Vietnamese singer-songwriter and independent musicianLê Cát Trọng Lý is a Vietnamese singer-songwriter whose career grew from viola studies and the song Chênh vênh into independently made albums, touring and community-oriented musical work.Read biography
1988–
Ocean Vuong
Poet, novelist and professorOcean Vuong is a Vietnam-born American poet and novelist whose writing explores family, language, desire and migration. His books include Night Sky with Exit Wounds, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Time Is a Mother and The Emperor of Gladness.Read biography
1971–
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Novelist, cultural critic and USC Writer in ResidenceViet Thanh Nguyen is a Vietnam-born American writer whose fiction, criticism and memoir examine war, displacement and representation. The Sympathizer, published in 2015, won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Read biography
1975–
Thi Bui
Cartoonist, illustrator, educator and graphic nonfiction writerThi Bui is a Vietnam-born American cartoonist whose graphic memoir The Best We Could Do reconstructs her family’s history. Her work includes picture-book illustration, teaching and graphic nonfiction about migration.Read biography
1983–
Thanh Bùi
Australian singer, songwriter and arts educator of Vietnamese heritageThanh Bùi is an Australian singer, songwriter and educator of Vietnamese heritage whose career spans pop performance and institutions in Ho Chi Minh City. After Australian Idol and international recording collaborations, he developed music and performing-arts education through SOUL and Embassy Education.Read biography
1959—
Nguyên Lê
Jazz guitarist and composer connecting Vietnamese traditions with improvisationThe Paris-born guitarist of Vietnamese parentage whose recordings connect jazz improvisation, Vietnamese musical traditions, rock and collaborations across continents.Read biography
1938—
Đặng Nhật Minh
Film director and screenwriterThe Vietnamese filmmaker whose dramas connect war, family memory and social change through the experiences of villagers and city residents.Read biography
1956–2018
Trần Đại Quang
Vietnamese president and former public-security ministerA career security official who became Vietnam’s president, represented the country through regional diplomacy and hosted APEC before his death in office in 2018.Read biography
1874–1932
Bạch Thái Bưởi
Shipping entrepreneur, shipyard operator and publisherThe Vietnamese entrepreneur whose career moved from clerical work and construction supply into shipping, shipbuilding, publishing and other businesses under French colonial rule.Read biography
1968—
Kim Thúy
Vietnam-born Quebec writer and playwrightThe Vietnam-born writer who made a literary life in Quebec, turning memories of displacement, language and everyday relationships into novels and stage writing.Read biography
Birth date unconfirmed
Nam Le
Short-story writer, poet and essayistThe Vietnam-born writer raised in Australia whose fiction, criticism and poetry explore imaginative freedom, literary craft and the expectations placed on diasporic authors.Read biography
1963–2022
Linda Lê
French-language novelist, essayist and literary criticThe Vietnam-born French-language writer whose novels and essays connect exile, intimate conflict, literary inheritance and the relationship between private lives and history.Read biography1867–1940
Phan Bội Châu
Anticolonial organiser and political writerPhan Bội Châu built overseas networks, sent Vietnamese students to Japan and revised his political programme from monarchist mobilisation to republican independence.Read biography1872–1926
Phan Châu Trinh
Reform advocate, public intellectual and speakerPhan Châu Trinh argued that education, public rights and changes to administration were foundations for Vietnam’s political renewal under colonial rule.Read biography1876–1947
Huỳnh Thúc Kháng
Reform activist, newspaper editor and government ministerHuỳnh Thúc Kháng moved from classical scholarship and Duy Tân activism through imprisonment to journalism, representative politics and government service.Read biography1900–1943
Nguyễn An Ninh
Political journalist, public intellectual and anticolonial activistNguyễn An Ninh used journalism, speeches and organising to challenge colonial rule.Read biography1910–1996
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
Lawyer, National Liberation Front leader and National Assembly chairNguyễn Hữu Thọ moved from legal practice and a peace movement in southern Vietnam to front leadership, an acting presidency and the National Assembly chair.Read biography1912–2011
Võ Chí Công
Revolutionary organiser, economic minister and Council of State chairVõ Chí Công moved from regional revolutionary organisation to economic administration and the chairmanship of Vietnam’s collective Council of State.Read biography
1962—
Trần Anh Hùng
French-Vietnamese film director and screenwriterTrần Anh Hùng built a filmmaking career across Vietnamese, Japanese and French settings, winning distinct Cannes and Venice awards for different films.Read biography
1890—1969
Hồ Chí Minh
Revolutionary leader and president of North VietnamThe revolutionary leader who declared Vietnamese independence in 1945 and served as president of North Vietnam until his death in 1969.Read biography
1911—2013
Võ Nguyên Giáp
General and defence ministerThe teacher turned general who organised revolutionary armed forces and became the best-known military commander of modern Vietnam.Read biography
1901—1963
Ngô Đình Diệm
First president of South VietnamThe anticommunist politician who became South Vietnam’s first president and was overthrown and killed during a military coup in 1963.Read biography
1911—1990
Lê Đức Thọ
Party organiser and peace negotiatorThe senior Communist Party organiser who negotiated and initialled the 1973 Paris Peace Accords with Henry Kissinger, then became the only person to decline a Nobel Peace Prize.Read biography
1944—2024
Nguyễn Phú Trọng
General secretary of the Communist Party of VietnamVietnam’s dominant party leader from 2011 to 2024, known for ideological discipline, a far-reaching anti-corruption drive and pragmatic foreign balancing.Read biography
1968—
Phạm Nhật Vượng
Founder and chairman of VingroupThe entrepreneur who moved from an instant-noodle business in Ukraine to build Vingroup and launch Vietnam’s most ambitious global vehicle brand.Read biography
1956—
Trương Gia Bình
Co-founder and chairman of FPT CorporationThe mathematician and entrepreneur who co-founded FPT in 1988 and helped turn it into a multinational technology, education and digital-services group.Read biography
1971—
Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ
Founder of Trung Nguyên LegendThe entrepreneur who founded Trung Nguyên in Buôn Ma Thuột and used coffee retail, instant products and cultural branding to expand internationally.Read biography
1974—
Hoàng Xuân Vinh
Olympic sport shooterThe pistol shooter who won gold and silver at Rio 2016, delivering Vietnam’s first Olympic title and its most successful single Games.Read biography
1996—
Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên
Olympic swimmer and SEA Games championVietnam’s most decorated swimmer, a three-time Olympian whose range and endurance produced 25 Southeast Asian Games titles.Read biography
1985—
Lê Công Vinh
Former Vietnam national football captainThe striker and captain whose 51 international goals and late 2008 championship header made him the defining Vietnamese footballer of his generation.Read biography
1926—2022
Thích Nhất Hạnh
Zen teacher, writer and peace activistThe Vietnamese Zen teacher and writer who developed engaged Buddhism and helped make mindfulness practice accessible to a worldwide audience.Read biography
1979—
Ngô Thanh Vân
Actor, director and producerThe actor and producer known internationally as Veronica Ngo, whose action films created new space for women-led Vietnamese commercial cinema.Read biography
1994—
Sơn Tùng M-TP
Singer, songwriter and producerThe singer-songwriter whose online releases, visual branding and fan community made him one of the most visible figures in contemporary Vietnamese pop.Read biography
1981—
Mỹ Tâm
Singer, songwriter and producerThe singer-songwriter whose powerful ballads, self-produced albums and large live shows have sustained one of Vietnamese pop’s longest leading careers.Read biography
1927—
Nguyễn Thị Bình
Diplomat and former vice president of VietnamThe revolutionary diplomat who represented the Provisional Revolutionary Government at the Paris negotiations and later served as education minister and vice president.Read biography
1954—
Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân
Former chairwoman of the National Assembly of VietnamThe public-finance administrator, labour minister and legislator who became the first woman to chair Vietnam’s National Assembly in 2016.Read biography
1970—
Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo
Founder and chairwoman of VietJet AirThe entrepreneur who founded VietJet, expanded private aviation in Vietnam and became the country’s first self-made woman billionaire after the airline listed.Read biography
1953—
Mai Kiều Liên
Chief executive of VinamilkThe dairy engineer who joined Vinamilk’s predecessor in 1976 and has led the company as chief executive through modernisation, listing and international expansion.Read biography1974—
Trần Hiếu Ngân
Olympic taekwondo medallistThe taekwondo athlete whose featherweight silver at the Sydney Olympics became the first Olympic medal in Vietnam’s history.Read biography
1995—
Nguyễn Thị Oanh
Middle-distance and long-distance runnerThe runner and steeplechaser whose 15 SEA Games gold medals, Asian indoor title and Asian Games bronze made her Vietnam’s defining distance athlete of her era.Read biography
1973—
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Poet, novelist and translatorThe bilingual poet and novelist whose family-centred fiction brought twentieth-century Vietnamese history to a wide international readership.Read biography
1992—
H’Hen Niê
Model, public advocate and Miss Universe Vietnam 2017The Êđê model and public advocate whose record-setting Miss Universe finish became a platform for girls’ education, literacy and community campaigns.Read biography1985—
Hoàng Anh Tuấn
Olympic weightlifting silver medallistThe weightlifter whose 290 kg total at Beijing 2008 made him Vietnam’s first male Olympic medallist and the country’s second Olympic medallist overall.Read biography1989—
Trần Lê Quốc Toàn
Olympic weightlifting bronze medallistThe weightlifter who finished fourth at London 2012 with a 284 kg total and later became the Olympic bronze medallist after an anti-doping disqualification.Read biography1942—2014
Phạm Huỳnh Tam Lang
Football defender and championship-winning coachThe centre-back who captained South Vietnam to the 1966 Merdeka Cup, then guided Cảng Sài Gòn through a title-winning era after reunification.Read biography
1970—
Nguyễn Hồng Sơn
Former Vietnam football midfielderThe skilful Thể Công midfielder who defined Vietnam’s 1990s golden generation and was named the best player of the 1998 Tiger Cup.Read biography
1972—
Lê Huỳnh Đức
Former Vietnam striker and championship-winning coachVietnam’s inaugural Golden Ball winner, a 1998 regional finalist and a two-time V.League title-winning coach with SHB Đà Nẵng.Read biography
1991—
Huỳnh Như
Vietnam international forward and 2023 World Cup captainA Vietnamese forward with five dated Golden Ball wins, a two-season Portuguese club spell and captaincy of Vietnam’s first FIFA Women’s World Cup team.Read biography
1997—
Nguyễn Quang Hải
Vietnam international football midfielderThe playmaker whose “Rainbow in the Snow” symbolised Vietnam’s 2018 breakthrough before he won the AFF Championship MVP and Golden Ball.Read biography
1993—
Đặng Văn Lâm
Vietnam international football goalkeeperA Moscow-born Vietnam goalkeeper whose career links a difficult route into senior football with the 2018 regional title, an Asian Cup shootout save and a move to Japan’s Cerezo Osaka.Read biography
1939—2001
Trịnh Công Sơn
Songwriter, poet and painterThe songwriter whose love songs and antiwar compositions became an enduring musical language for Vietnamese memory across division and reunification.Read biography
1958—
Đặng Thái Sơn
Classical pianist and professorThe Hanoi-born pianist whose 1980 Chopin Competition victory led to an international career as a performer, recording artist, juror and influential teacher.Read biography1920—1988
Bùi Xuân Phái
Modern painterThe modern painter whose weathered streets, façades and everyday figures made Hanoi’s Old Quarter inseparable from his name.Read biography
1955—
Nguyễn Nhật Ánh
Novelist and children’s authorThe author of more than 100 works whose novels and series turned Vietnamese childhood, friendship and first love into stories shared across generations.Read biography
1984—
Hà Anh Tuấn
Singer, producer and concert organiserThe singer who moved from a national television breakthrough to carefully produced concerts, digital performance series and environmental advocacy.Read biography
1913—1997
Bảo Đại
Last emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty and Chief of State of VietnamVietnam’s last emperor, whose abdication in 1945 and return as chief of state in 1949 traced the country’s passage from monarchy into revolution and competing postcolonial governments.Read biography
1923—2001
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
President of the Republic of VietnamThe South Vietnamese general and president whose wartime government combined constitutional institutions with restricted competition, then accepted the Paris settlement under U.S. pressure.Read biography
1907—1988
Trường Chinh
Communist Party leader, political theorist and head of stateThe senior communist theorist whose career stretched from the 1945 revolution and land reform to a late political shift that helped open the Đổi Mới reform era.Read biography
1906—2000
Phạm Văn Đồng
Prime minister and diplomatThe revolutionary diplomat who led the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at Geneva and then headed its government through war, reunification and the failures of postwar central planning.Read biography
1922—2008
Võ Văn Kiệt
Prime minister and economic reformerThe southern revolutionary and prime minister who accelerated market reform, backed the North–South power line and led Vietnam through a decisive period of international integration.Read biography
1916—2001
Dương Văn Minh
South Vietnamese general and final president of the Republic of VietnamThe general who led the 1963 coup, briefly headed South Vietnam’s military government and returned as its final president before surrender.Read biography
1907—1986
Lê Duẩn
Communist Party leader and wartime strategistThe party leader who drove North Vietnam’s war strategy, presided over reunification and remained Vietnam’s dominant political figure until the eve of Đổi Mới.Read biography
1888—1980
Tôn Đức Thắng
Trade-union organiser and president of VietnamThe labour organiser, colonial prisoner and head of state who succeeded Hồ Chí Minh in 1969 and became the first president of reunified Vietnam in 1976.Read biography
1915—1998
Nguyễn Văn Linh
Communist Party general secretary and Đổi Mới reform leaderThe southern party organiser who became general secretary in 1986 and gave political force to Đổi Mới while preserving Communist Party rule.Read biography
1917—2018
Đỗ Mười
Prime minister and Communist Party general secretaryThe former construction administrator who served as prime minister and then party general secretary as Vietnam stabilised reforms and re-entered regional and global diplomacy.Read biography
1933—2018
Phan Văn Khải
Prime minister and economic reformerThe technocratic prime minister who advanced business reform, negotiated deeper global integration and made a landmark visit to the United States in 2005.Read biography
1949—
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Former prime minister of VietnamVietnam’s prime minister from 2006 to 2016, associated with WTO-era growth, a more assertive executive style and costly failures in state-owned conglomerates.Read biography
1931—2020
Lê Khả Phiêu
Army political officer and Communist Party general secretaryThe career army political officer who led Vietnam’s Communist Party from 1997 to 2001, stressing discipline and continuity during a contested phase of reform.Read biography
1940—
Nông Đức Mạnh
Former Communist Party general secretary and National Assembly chairmanThe forestry-trained legislator who led Vietnam’s Communist Party for a decade spanning the U.S. trade agreement, WTO accession and accelerating global integration.Read biography
1969—
Nguyễn Đức Tài
Co-founder and chairman of Mobile World Investment CorporationThe retail entrepreneur who co-founded Mobile World in 2004 and helped expand it from a Ho Chi Minh City phone shop into a nationwide group spanning electronics, groceries and other consumer formats.Read biography
1964—
Đặng Thành Tâm
Founder and chairman of Kinh Bac City Development Holding CorporationThe marine engineer turned industrial-park developer who founded Kinh Bac City and built manufacturing locations around northern Vietnam’s growing export economy.Read biography
1955—
Nguyễn Thị Nga
BRG chairwoman and SeABank standing vice chairwomanThe entrepreneur who founded BRG as an import-export business in 1993 and expanded it into a private group with interests across finance, property, hospitality, golf and retail.Read biography
1970—
Lê Hồng Thủy Tiên
Chief executive officer of Imex Pan Pacific GroupThe former actor and flight attendant who moved into retail management and became chief executive of IPPG, helping scale international fashion, food-and-beverage and airport retail in Vietnam.Read biography
1983—
Bùi Quang Minh
Founder and chairman of Beta GroupThe entrepreneur known as Minh Beta who developed a mass-market cinema business, attracted institutional investment and joined Aeon Entertainment in a separately branded Vietnamese cinema venture.Read biography
1952—
Lê Lương Minh
13th Secretary-General of ASEANThe Vietnamese diplomat and 13th ASEAN secretary-general whose term included the launch of the ASEAN Community in 2015.Read biography
1954—