Võ Thị Thắng

Võ Thị Thắng (10 December 1945 – 22 August 2014) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and stateswoman. She was a member of the Long An delegation to the National Assembly of Vietnam during its fourth, fifth, and sixth sessions. She also served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (eighth and ninth congresses), the Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Chairwoman of the Vietnam–Cuba Friendship Association, and the Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Union.

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Võ. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Thắng.

Võ Thị Thắng
A Vietnamese woman dressed in black smiling on the left, next to two guards on the right wearing military uniforms and helmets
The "Smile of Victory" photograph, for which Võ Thị Thắng is most well known outside of Vietnam.
Member of the National Assembly of Vietnam for Long An Province
In office
1975–1981
Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
In office
1996–2006
Personal details
Born(1945-12-10)10 December 1945
Tân Bửu Commune, Bến Lức District, Long An Province, Vietnam
Died22 August 2014(2014-08-22) (aged 68)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Political partyCommunist Party of Vietnam
Awards
Military service
AllegianceNational Liberation Front of South Vietnam
Years of service1962–1975

Outside of Vietnam, she is most well known for a photograph of her smiling at her sentencing for an attempted assassination during the Vietnam War. The photograph is popularly known as the "Smile of Victory" and has become a symbol of Vietnamese women who fought in the war.

Early life

Võ Thị Thắng was born on 10 December 1945 in what is now Tân Bửu Commune, Bến Lức District, Long An Province, Vietnam. She was the youngest of eight siblings, and her family members were supporters of the North Vietnamese government.[1] At the age of 16, Thắng joined the underground National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF). When she was 17, she moved to Saigon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City) and joined the local branches of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and Vietnamese Students' Association, which were banned under the South Vietnamese government.[1]

Vietnam War

In July 1968, during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War, the NLF tasked Thắng with assassinating a suspected spy in Saigon.[1][2] After failing to kill her target, she was arrested by the South Vietnamese authorities and sentenced by a military court to 20 years of hard labour in Côn Đảo Prison.[1] Upon receiving her sentence, Thắng faced the jury and retorted, "Will your government last long enough to imprison me for 20 years?"[note 1] A photograph of Thắng smiling, taken by a Japanese reporter at her sentencing, became popularly known as the "Smile of Victory", a symbol of Vietnamese women who fought in the Vietnam War.[1][2]

Thắng was released on 7 March 1974 under the Paris Peace Accords, having served less than six years of her sentence.[1][2]

Later life

After the end of the Vietnam War and the reunification of Vietnam on 30 April 1975, Thắng retired from the People's Army of Vietnam and continued her work with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.[1] The Vietnamese government later appointed her standing vice president of the Vietnam Women's Union.[1][4]

She was elected to the fourth (1971–1975), fifth (1975–1976), and sixth (1976–1981) sessions of the National Assembly of Vietnam as a representative of Long An Province,[5] as well as to the eighth and ninth congresses of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.[4] She also served as the Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Chairwoman of the Vietnam–Cuba Friendship Association.[4]

Thắng retired in 2007 and died on 22 August 2014.[1]

Honours

Thắng was posthumously conferred the title Hero of the People's Armed Forces by Vietnamese president Trương Tấn Sang on 20 August 2015.[6] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the award ceremony on 10 September 2015, at the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.[7]

A primary school in Havana, Cuba, is named after her.[8]

Awards
Country Award
 Vietnam Hero of the People's Armed Forces
Order of Independence, 2nd class
Order of Labour, 1st class
Order of Resistance, 1st class
Order of Victory, 1st class
 Cuba Order of Anna Betancourt
Order of Friendship

See also
  • Nguyễn Văn Trỗi, who was captured and executed after a failed attempt to assassinate two prominent U.S. officials in 1964
  • Võ Thị Sáu, who was captured and executed after a failed grenade attack against colonial collaborators in 1952

Notes
  1. According to the BBC, the original retort in Vietnamese was "Liệu chính quyền của các ông có tồn tại đến 20 năm để bỏ tù tôi không?"[2] Progressive International, however, provides a translation of a different quotation: "Your government will not last that long."[3]

References
  1. "Tiểu sử Đồng chí Võ Thị Thắng". Tổng cục Du lịch Việt Nam (in Vietnamese). Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
  2. "Bà Võ Thị Thắng qua đời". BBC News (in Vietnamese). 22 August 2014.
  3. "Portraits of Vietnamese Women At War". Progressive International. 9 March 2021.
  4. Thứ Ba. "Những khoảnh khắc Võ Thị Thắng". VOV.VN (in Vietnamese). Voice of Vietnam. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  5. "Võ Thị Thắng 'là người trong sạch'". BBC News. 23 August 2014.
  6. "Bà Võ Thị Thắng được truy tặng danh hiệu Anh hùng". Tuổi Trẻ (in Vietnamese). 20 August 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  7. "Truy tặng danh hiệu Anh hùng LLVTND cho đồng chí Võ Thị Thắng" (in Vietnamese). Vietnam People's Public Security. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  8. "Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong visits Vo Thi Thang school in Cuba". Vietnam News Agency. 30 March 2018.
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