Trần Quốc Hoàn (23 January 1916 – 5 September 1986) was the first and longest-serving Minister of Public Security of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

. He served in that role from 1952 through unification to 1981. He laid the foundation for structure of Vietnam's security services. He was a member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

from 1972 until 1980.

Early life

He was born as Nguyễn Trọng Cảnh on 23 January 1916, in Nam Trung village,

Nam Đàn District Nam, Nam, or The Nam are shortened terms for: * Vietnam, which is also spelled ''Viet Nam'' * The Vietnam War Nam, The Nam or NAM may also refer to: Arts and media * Nam, a fictional character in anime series ''Dragon Ball'' * ''NAM'' (video ...

, Nghệ An Province. He participated in the 1930 uprising, and joined the Indochina Communist party in March 1934. During the late 1930s he was involved with the student movement in

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

and

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, as well as various youth organizations. He joined the Indochina Democratic Front (''Mặt trận Thống nhất Dân chủ Đông Dương'') and was Secretary of the Committee (1937–1939). In May 1940, he was arrested and sent to the prison at

Sơn La Sơn La (; Tai Dam: ) is a city in the north-west region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Sơn La Province. It is bordered by Thuận Châu District, Mường La District, and Mai Sơn District. History In the era of the Sip Hoc Chau Tai, ...

. Released in May 1945, he continued his revolutionary activities, becoming Party Secretary for

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

. In 1951 he was elected to the Party Central Committee and made Deputy Minister of police. On 2 May 1952 he became Director General of Public Security of Vietnam, and the following year the agency's name was changed to Ministry of Security (''Bộ Công an'') with Trần Quốc Hoàn at its head.

Minister of Security

Trần was known as the Beria of Vietnam, in reference to

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria ka, ლავრენტი პავლეს ძე ბერია} ''Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria'' ( – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician and one of the longest-serving and most influential of Joseph ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's notorious

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

chief.

Honors

A street in the

Cầu Giấy District Cầu Giấy (anglicized as Cau Giay) is an urban district of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. It is located roughly to the west of urban Hanoi. Cầu Giấy has a unique urban landscape, with new urban developments interlacing old historica ...

of Hanoi is named after Trần Quốc Hoàn.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Quoc Hoan Alternates of the 3rd Politburo of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Politburo of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam 1916 births 1986 deaths