Ho Chi Minh was Vietnam’s historic communist leader who was also prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at the same time. With ample training from Moscow, he was a key figure in the formation of the People’s Army of Vietnam, the Viet Cong and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

He led the Biet Minh independence movement to victory against the French Union at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. In 1965, he officially stepped down from power due to the demands on his health. Although not politically active, he remained to be a figure of inspiration and motivation for the other Vietnamese who fought for his cause He made such an impact in the Vietnamese government and society that Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, was renamed after him.