Hồ Chí Minh

1st President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

The portrait of Hochiminh in white suite with cigarette in the hand

1890 - 1969

“All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Ho chi minh museum in Hanoi Ho chi minh Museum

The Ho Chi Minh Museumis located in Hanoi, Vietnam. Constructed in the 1990s, it is dedicated to the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam's revolutionary struggle against foreign powers. Ho Chi Minh museum is located in the Ho Chi Minh complex. The museum documents Ho Chi Minh's life, with 8 chronological exhibitions. The first one, from 1890 to 1910 modeled after his upbringing, hometown and youth. The second exhibit concerns the next ten years of his life, when Ho Chi Minh travelled the world seeking a means of freeing Vietnam from the restraints of colonialism.

The picture of Ho chi minh with his god-daughter Ho chi minh with children

During his life President Ho Chi Minh had a deep affection for young people all over the world. He said: “All children in the world are my children.” He was a godfather of some foreign teenagers, some of whom later became well-known politicians, writers and artists. In 1946 during an official visit to France as an honoured guest of the French Government, President Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho) adopted Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Raymond Aubrac – a high ranking official at the Ministry of Reconstruction, and Madeleine Riffaud, a renowned writer and journalist of France . It has been affirmed that they were the first godchildren of Uncle Ho.

Picture of Hochiminh city which called Saigon before 1975 Ho Chi Minh City

The current official name, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, first proclaimed in 1946, later adopted in 1976. It's abbreviated TP.HCM, and translated as Ho Chi Minh City, abbreviated HCMC, and in French as Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville (the circumflex is sometimes omitted), abbreviated HCMV. The name commemorates Ho Chi Minh, the first leader of North Vietnam. This name, though not his given name, was one he favored throughout his later years. It combines a common Vietnamese surname (Hồ, 胡) with a given name meaning "enlightened will" (from Sino-Vietnamese 志 明; Chí meaning 'will' or 'spirit', and Minh meaning 'light'), in essence, meaning "light bringer". Nowadays, "Saigon" is commonly used to refer to the city's central business districts, whereas "Ho Chi Minh City" is used to refer to the whole city.