Hoàng Văn Hoan

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

Hoàng Văn Hoan (1905 – 18 May 1991)^[1] was an early member of the Indochinese Communist Party and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 1960 to 1976. Hoan was born in Nghệ An Province in 1905,^[2] and was an associate of Ho Chi Minh since the 1920s. He was a crucial link between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the People's Republic of China. He served as North Vietnam's first ambassador to China from 1950 to 1957 and was Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee from 1958 to 1979.

Hoàng Văn Hoan
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th)
In office 23 April 1958 – 24 June 1979
Chairman	Trường Chinh
General Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly (1st, 2nd)
In office April 1958 – June 1962
Chairman	Trường Chinh
Succeeded by	Xuân Thủy
Communist Party Secretary of Hanoi
In office January 1961 – June 1961
Deputy	Nguyễn Thọ Chân Trần Minh Việt Trần Anh Liên
Preceded by	Trần Danh Tuyên
Succeeded by	Nguyễn Lam
Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (2nd, 3rd)
In office October 1956 – December 1976
General Secretary	Hồ Chí Minh Lê Duẩn (as First Secretary)
Ambassador of Vietnam to China with accreditation as North Korea & Mongolia
In office 1950 – April 1957
Succeeded by	Nguyễn Khang (to China) Trần Độ (to North Korea)
Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
In office August 1945 – December 1976
General Secretary	Trường Chinh Hồ Chí Minh Lê Duẩn (as First Secretary)
Personal details
Born	Hoàng Ngọc Ân 1905 (1905) Quỳnh Lưu, Nghệ An Province, Annam Protectorate, French Indochina
Died	18 May 1991(1991-05-18) (aged 85–86) Beijing, China
Political party	Communist Party of Vietnam (expelled in 1979)

Known for his pro-Chinese stance, Hoan's influence peaked in the early 1960s when North Vietnam's leadership temporarily aligned with China during the Sino-Soviet dispute. In 1963, as part of this policy shift, Hoan was appointed head of the party's International Liaison Department at the same time that the more pro-Chinese Xuân Thủy became Foreign Minister.

Beginning around 1965, however, as Soviet aid became critical to the war effort, Hanoi began to improve relations with the Soviet Union, leading to increased tensions with Beijing. In this new political atmosphere, the Vietnamese leadership, directed by First Secretary Lê Duẩn, replaced officials who were strongly identified with the previous pro-Chinese policy. Both Xuân Thủy and Hoan were removed from their key foreign policy posts.

Despite his diminished role, Hoan was still used for sensitive diplomatic missions due to his personal connections in Beijing. In May 1973, he conducted secret talks in China regarding the Cambodian Civil War. He traveled to China again in 1974, officially for "medical treatment," a trip that coincided with unsuccessful Sino-Vietnamese border negotiations.^[3] His political career effectively ended at the Fourth National Party Congress in December 1976, where he was removed from the Politburo and the Central Committee as the party formalized its pro-Soviet orientation.

After being subjected to political isolation and surveillance, Hoan defected in July 1979. While traveling to East Germany for medical care, he eluded his escorts during a transit stop in Karachi, Pakistan, and sought refuge at the Chinese consulate before flying to Beijing. At a press conference in August 1979, Hoan stated that Vietnam's persecution of its ethnic Chinese minority was "even worse than Hitler's treatment of the Jews" and accused Vietnamese leaders of becoming "subservient to a foreign power," a reference to the Soviet Union. In his writings, he also alleged, without providing evidence, that the CPV's Central Committee had decided in 1982 to increase opium production to raise foreign currency.^[4]

Hoan authored a political memoir titled Giọt nước trong biển cả. It was translated into English by China's state-run Foreign Languages Press as A Drop in the Ocean: Hoang Van Hoan's Revolutionary Reminiscences. He died in Beijing on May 18, 1991.^[5]

Works

• Hoang Van Hoan (1988). A Drop in the Ocean: Hoang Van Hoan's Revolutionary Reminiscences. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 9780835122559.
• — (1989). Selected Works of Hoang Van Hoan. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 9787119006048.