Ex-Vietnam President Cong dies at 99

Vietnam's state media say former President Vo Chi Cong has died at age 99.

Vietnam's state media say former President Vo Chi Cong has died at age 99.

HT Image

Communist Party newspaper Nhan Dan says Cong died on Thursday at a hospital in southern Ho Chi Minh City. He had long been ill.

Cong was born Vo Toan in central Quang Nam province and joined the Communist Party in 1935. He gradually rose in the ranks.

He was appointed deputy prime minister in 1976, a year after the Vietnam War and served as president from 1987 to 1991.

After retiring from the job as adviser to the ruling Communist Party in 1996, Cong rarely appeared at public events.

Friday's report said Cong will be buried at a cemetery in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday.