Lê Đức Anh

Lê Đức Anh (Vietnamese: [le˧˧ ʔɗɨk̚˧˦ ʔajŋ̟˧˧]; 1 December 1920 – 22 April 2019) was a Vietnamese politician and general who served as the fifth President of Vietnam from 1992 to 1997. He previously led the Vietnamese forces in Cambodia throughout the 1980s. He was regarded as a conservative who advocated maintaining tight party control over domestic policies.

Lê Đức Anh's military career spanned many battlefields across Vietnam, from north to south. Vietnamese primarily remember him for his role in the war against the United States and his command of Vietnamese forces in Cambodia.

After Doi Moi in 1986, Anh moved to civil work. On 23 September 1992, he became the 5th President of Vietnam since independence. He left many traces in foreign affairs such as normalizing diplomatic relations with the United States, strengthening relationships with former enemies during the Vietnam War such as China, Japan, Korea and France. Lê Đức Anh was the first Vietnamese Head of State since unification to make a trip to United States and together with Prime Minister Võ Văn Kiệt persuaded President of United States Bill Clinton to lift the sanctions in Vietnam. On 28 July 1995, Vietnam officially joined ASEAN, marking a historic turning point in cooperation and association with countries in the Southeast Asia. On 23 September 1997, he officially ended his term as President. His successor was Trần Đức Lương.