Since it was set up in 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam convened 12 national congresses, which marked important historical milestones of the country, summarising achievements as well as lessons of Vietnamese revolution and sketching out the future development orientations for the nation.
Cabinet members of Democratic Republic of Vietnam elected by the second plenary session of the first National Assembly (from October 28 to November 9,1946) (File photo. Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Since it was set up in 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam convened 12 national congresses, which marked important historical milestones of the country, summarising achievements as well as lessons of Vietnamese revolution and sketching out the future development orientations for the nation.
The first national congress was held from March 27-31, 1935 in Macau, China with the attendance of 13 delegates.
It reviewed the situation inside and outside the country, highlighted achievements recorded by the Soviet Union and the revolutionary movements of working people in many countries across the world, and affirmed socialism is an historical inevitability.
The Congress held that the system of Party organisations was restored and progress made in revolutionary movements. People’s struggles gained victories at different levels over the past two years.
It put forth three major tasks for the Party in the immediate future.
The first National Party Congress was an important historical event, making the success of the struggle to keep and restore the system of Party organisations from the central to the grassroots level, uniting revolutionary movements under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, and creating conditions for revolutionary movements to enter a new period of struggle.
The second National Party Congress was held from February 11 to 19, 1951 in Vinh Quang commune (now Kim Binh commune), Chiem Hoa district, Tuyen Quang province with participation of 158 delegates.
The congress discussed the political report, the report on Vietnam’s revolution, the report on the Party’s organisation and Statutes, and the supplementary reports on the “Mat tran dan toc thong nhat” (United National Front), the people’s democratic administration, the people’s army, economy – finance, and the people’s literature and arts.
Delegates reviewed the process of the resistance war against French colonialists and perfected the guidelines for the people’s democratic national revolution.
The congress decided to make the Party’s activities public under the name of the Vietnam Workers’ Party, and adopted the Political Platform, Statutes and Declaration of the Party. It also decided to set up revolutionary organisations that suited the situation in Laos and Cambodia. The Vietnam Workers’ Party had the duty to assist the revolutionary organisations of Laos and Cambodia in leading the two countries’ resistance wars to final victory.
The second National Party Congress was a significant historical event, marking the Party’s new development in terms of ideology and political guideline. From secret activities, the Party resumed public operations under the name the Vietnam Workers’ Party, thus meeting the revolution’s development requirements.
The third National Party Congress was held from September 5 to 10, 1960 in Hanoi and was attended by 525 delegates. It focused on the building of socialism in the north and the fight for national reunification.
The Party Central Committee’s political report at the congress pointed out that the two revolutionary tasks in the north and the south belonged to two different strategies. Each task aimed to deal with concrete requirements of each region in the context of the temporary national division. However, those two tasks had an immediate common target - realising national peace and reunification.
The northern region was the shared revolutionary base of the whole nation. The unceasing development of the north not only enhanced the southern patriotic compatriots’ confidence and encouraged their revolutionary enthusiasm, but also made the balance between the revolutionary forces the anti-revolutionary forces in favour of the former and created optimal conditions for the revolution in the south to develop strongly and gain the ultimate victory.
On the other hand, to ensure peace for the northern region to build socialism and maintain peace in Indochina and the world, the south needed to resolutely fight against the US imperialists and their henchmen, thwarting their invasion and warfare policies, and toppling their brutal rule. There were no ways other than that.
Fundamental tasks of the first five-year plan (1961-1965) was given during the congress.
The fourth National Party Congress took place from December 14-20, 1976 in Hanoi. The congress looked into the Political Report of the Party Central Committee; the report on major orientations, tasks and targets of the five-year (1976-1980) plan; and the report on Party building work and adjustment to the Party Statutes.
It decided directions for the socialist revolution in Vietnam in the new period, and major orientations, tasks and targets of the five-year plan (1976-1980). It approved a resolution on renaming the Vietnam Workers’ Party as the Communist Party of Vietnam, as well as the supplements to the Party Statutes, the replacement of the title “First Party Secretary” by “Party General Secretary”, and a regulation stipulating a five-year term of the Party Central Committee.
The fifth National Party Congress was organised from March 27-31, 1982 in Hanoi. The congress outlined the main socio-economic directions, tasks and goals for the 1981-1985 period, and set out two strategic tasks of building socialism and firmly defending the Fatherland of socialist Vietnam.
The sixth National Party Congress, took place from December 15-18, 1986 in Hanoi, marked an important reform in Party leadership in politics, ideology and organisation work.
Based on the analysis and assessment of the national situation, the congress had a serious self-criticism itself for its mistakes and shortcomings. Reforming the way of thinking, better recognising the objective rules of the transitional period, inheriting attainments and experience in socialism building in the north and during the first years of national reunification, conducting various research experiments in the reality, the congress worked out the policy of reform.
The seventh National Party Congress ran from June 24-27,1991 in Hanoi. It concentrated on continuing reform process and bringing the country forward on the way to socialism.
The Platform on national construction in the period of transition to socialism was adopted by the Congress, highlighting the socialist features built by the people, basic orientations to successfully build socialism in the country.
The eighth congress, from June 28 to July 1, 1996 in Hanoi, reviewed 10 years of implementing comprehensive reform and five years of implementing the resolution of the seventh National Party Congress; devised goals, orientations and solutions for promoting national industrialisation and modernisation; and supplemented and amended the Party’s Statutes.
The congress defined that the target of industrialisation and modernisation was building Vietnam into an industrialised country with modern material-technological infrastructure, a reasonable economic structure, progressive production relations that matched the development level of production forces, high material and spiritual living standards, firm defence – security, rich people, a strong nation, and an equal and civilised society.
The ninth congress, from April 19-22, 2001 in Hanoi, had its agenda focusing on promoting national strength and speeding up industrialisation and modernisation.
Participants reviewed the Party’s 71-year leadership of the Vietnamese revolution, the five-year implementation of the Resolution adopted by the eighth National Party Congress, 15 years of national renovation, the 10-year implementation of the socio-economic development strategy, in order to draw lessons, thereby developing and perfecting guidelines and outlining a national development strategy for the first two decades of the 21st century. It also devised Party building orientations and tasks to meet the nation’s requirements in the new period, revised and supplemented the Party Statutes.
The 10th congress was held from April 18 to 25, 2006 in Hanoi. It adopted a Political Report themed: “Improving the Party’s leadership and combat capacity, bringing into play the strength of the whole nation, comprehensively promoting reforms, and soon lifting the country out of the underdeveloped status.”
The congress adopted national development targets and orientations for 2006-2010, including improving the Party’s leadership and combat capacity, bringing into play the strength of the whole nation, comprehensively stepping up reforms, and mobilising and optimising every resource for national industrialisation and modernisation.
The 11th congress, from January 12-19, 2011 in Hanoi, made assessments and drew lessons from the implementation of the resolution adopted by the 10th National Party Congress, socio-economic tasks in the five-year period (2016-2010), the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy (2001-2010) and the 1991 Platform for National Construction in the Period of Transition to Socialism. On this foundation, the congress decided to supplement and develop the 1991 Platform, outlined a 10-year Socio-economic Development Strategy (2011-2020), set out the orientations, targets and tasks for five years (2011-2015), and adopted the supplemented and revised Party Charter along with many other important documents.
The 12th National Party Congress, held on January 20-28, 2016 in Hanoi, was themed “Strengthening the building of the Party into pure and strong; promoting the strength of the whole nation and socialist democracy; comprehensively and concertedly accelerating the cause of reform; firmly safeguarding the Motherland, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; striving to turn Vietnam into a basically industrialised and modernity-oriented country at an early date”.
The congress discussed and comprehensively evaluated the outcomes of the implementation of the resolution released at the 11th National Party Congress, the five-year socio-economic development tasks of 2011-2015, and reviewed 30 years of reform./.