Born Nguyen That Thanh, Ho Chi Minh was born in central Vietnam. He left his country in 1912 as a ship steward. He went to London and then moved to Paris, where he became a founding member of the French Communist Party in 1917.
From 1922 to 1925 he lived in the USSR. In 1925, he moved to China, where he was active in the activities of the Communist Party and in 1940, he returned to Vietnam, taking the name Ho Chi Minh, which means "he who enlightens."
During the war, Ho organized resistance to the Japanese. In 1945, he declared Vietnamese independence and led the war against the French. After the partition of Vietnam, he led the struggle against South Vietnam and the United States until his death in 1969.