Upholding glorious tradition, building a distinct, modern, and internationally integrated Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in the new era of national progress

Exactly 75 years ago, in autumn of September 1949, the Nguyen Ai Quoc Party School had the honor to welcome President Ho Chi Minh, who visited and attend the opening ceremony of the Long-term Theory Class, Course II, at Luong Village, Binh Thanh Commune, Dinh Hoa District, Thai Nguyen Province.

He wrote on the first page of the school’s Golden Book an extremely valuable directive: “Study to work, to be a human being, to be a cadre. Study to serve the organization, the class and the people, the Fatherland and humanity”. To achieve these goals, one must be: “diligent, frugal, honest, upright, fair, and selfless”.

The event of Uncle Ho’s visit is a milestone in the history of the formation of Nguyen Ai Quoc Party School, recognized as the glorious traditional day of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

His teachings have become a compass, a torch to light the way for the Party’s cadre training work, carrying sacred meaning in the hearts of generations of cadres, lecturers and students at the Party School through the years.

Through the nation’s two prolonged resistance wars and alongside the country’s renovation process, from the Central Party School, the initial seed planted by the beloved Uncle Ho in the Viet Bac Resistance Zone has grown into the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, which has experienced many stages of development with many different names, constantly maturing and growing.

During the period 1949-1977, the Academy was named the Nguyen Ai Quoc Party School. Due to the conditions of war, the school was relocated to various localities in Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Ha Tay, and Phu Tho provinces. To meet the requirements of revolutionary tasks, the functions and tasks of the school were constantly expanded and strengthened.

In 1962, the school began the task of training and fostering mid-level and high-level cadres, along with training cadres to research and teach political theory. In 1964, the school opened its first graduate student classes. Since 1966, the school has begun to implement scientific research projects.

After the country’s reunification, in order to meet the requirements of building socialism, the organizational structure of the Party School system was increasingly consolidated and strengthened.

In July 1977, the school was renamed the Nguyen Ai Quoc High-Level Party School and established a second campus in Ho Chi Minh City, carrying out two basic tasks: training and fostering mid-level and high-level cadres and conducting theoretical research.

The renovation process opened a new period of development for the Party School system nationwide. In July 1986, the Nguyen Ai Quoc High-Level Party School changed its name to the Nguyen Ai Quoc Academy of Social Sciences (abbreviated as Nguyen Ai Quoc Academy). In March 1993, the Nguyen Ai Quoc Academy was transformed into the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

On the basis of unifying regional Party Schools and Party propaganda schools, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics became a nationwide system, including units at the Academy’s central campus and branches in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and the Academy of Journalism and Communication. In October 1996, the Institute of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought merged with the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. Accordingly, the Academy’s functions were expanded to include research and the compilation of the history of the Communist Party of Vietnam, as well as the guidance and evaluation of the history of the Party, and the traditional history of central and local departments, ministries, branches, and organizations.

In May 2007, the Academy was merged with the National Academy of Public Administration and was named the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration. In 2014, after the Academy of Public Administration was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Academy reverted to its former name, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

According to Decision No. 145-QD/TW dated August 8, 2018, of the Politburo, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics is an agency directly under the Party Central Committee; under the direct, comprehensive, and regular leadership and direction of the Politburo and the Secretariat.

Currently, the Academy’s organizational structure includes: 18 specialized institutes, information affairs, and publishing tasks; 10 functional units; the Academy of Politics Region I (in Hanoi), the Academy of Politics Region II (in Ho Chi Minh City), the Academy of Politics Region III (in Da Nang city), the Academy of Politics Region IV (in Can Tho city) and the Academy of Journalism and Communication; synchronously connected with the system of political schools across the 63 provinces and cities across the country.

Over the past 75 years, carrying the glorious responsibility and pride of being the school carrying out the “fundamental work of the Party”, the Academy has trained hundreds of thousands of mid-level and high-level cadres for the Party and the political system, from the central to local levels, and international students. These students have been equipped with political theory, revolutionary ethics, leadership and management skills, and practical organizational abilities, promptly and effectively meeting the strategic goals and tasks of the revolutionary cause in various historical periods.

Along with the country’s renovation process, the Academy has gradually affirmed its position as a national center for training and fostering mid - and high -level leaders, managers, and political theory scientists for the Party, the State, and socio-political organizations. It is also a national center for scientific research on Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, research on the Party’s guidelines and policies, as well as the State’s policies and laws, research on political science, leadership and management science, all serving teaching and learning. The Academy has contributed to providing scientific arguments for the formulation of guidelines and policies for the Party and the State.

In recognition of its developmental achievements and great contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the State, our Party, and State have awarded the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics: the Ho Chi Minh Medal (1st time: 1989; 2nd time: 2014), the Gold Star Medal (1996); the Title of Labor Hero in the Renovation Period (2009), the First-Class Labor Medal (2024) and many other noble awards.

Inheriting the glorious tradition and following in the footsteps of previous generations, in recent years, the Academy has worked with unity, wisdom, and creativity, achieving important accomplishments and notable milestones across all fields. It strives to become the highest-level institution of the Party, distinct, modern, and integrated in the era of renovation.

(1) The Academy has made many breakthroughs in building, developing and effectively organizing training programs, fostering political theory in a fundamental, systematic, practical, and modern direction. It has strongly renovated teaching and learning methods following the motto “learners are the center - schools are the foundation - lecturers are the driving force”, focusing on improving knowledge, skills and training political qualities. The Academy has drastically renovated training management work in the direction of promoting the application of information technology, strengthening school discipline, raising students’ self-awareness, self-management, and compliance with regulations. It has determined to overcome and put an end to the issues of lack of interest and reluctance to study political theory.

From 2014 to through to the present, the Academy has trained and fostered more than 115,000 high-level political theory students in different classes. In particular, taking on the responsibility of being the Party’s highest-level school, the Academy has been entrusted by the Politburo and the Secretariat with the task of coordinating with the Central Organizing Committee and agencies to successfully organize training courses and updating knowledge for official members and alternate members of the Party Central Committee, strategic-level cadre planning, specialized training courses, and themed exchange programs for cadres from friendly Parties and States.

Promoting its role of a model and creating a widespread positive influence, the Academy has promoted the building of standardized political schools, bringing about significant changes, motivation, momentum, and energy in training and fostering cadres, conducting scientific research, building material, and technical facilities and developing teaching staff across the country’s system of political schools.

To date, 63 out of 63 political schools have had their plans for achieving standardization approved by the Provincial and Municipal Party Committees under the Central Government. It is expected that by the end of 2024, around 25 political schools will be recognized as meeting Level 1 standards.

(2) As a place that converges and crystallizes the Party’s political theoretical knowledge, the Academy has strongly innovated its scientific research work towards seamlessly integrating theory and practice; combining theoretical research and practical summarization with advising on the formulation of guidelines, orientations, and policies for the Party and the State; inheriting and developing Vietnam’s theoretical knowledge base, and selectively absorbing the quintessence of human knowledge in line with global development trends.

From 2014 to the present, the Academy has completed nearly 280 national-level programs and projects; nearly 750 ministerial-level proposals, programs, and projects; and over 1,800 grassroots-level projects. The results of scientific research projects have directly served the renovation, and improvement of the quality of cadre training and fostering; directly contributed to the creative application, supplementation, and development of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, and the theory of the renovation path; and provided hundreds of reports and recommendations serving the planning and implementation of the Party’s guidelines and policies and the State’s laws, projects, plans and development strategies for various sectors, fields and localities.

(3) As the nucleus for spreading the tradition of patriotism, revolutionary spirit, pride, and confidence in the golden history of the Party, the Academy has presided over, together with the Standing Committees of Provincial and Municipal Party Committees, in effectively directing the work of research and compiling the Party’s history. As a result, thousands of high-quality historical works on Party committees at all levels have been compiled, helping to illuminate the achievements and lessons learned throughout the more than 94-year revolutionary leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The Academy has taken the lead, implementing many breakthrough activities in protecting the Party’s ideological foundation, fighting against wrong and hostile viewpoints. It has proactively integrated the protection of the ideological foundation into the content, programs, and lectures; publishing articles on protecting the Party’s ideological foundation across the system of journals, newsletters, information portals, websites, and scientific forums. The Academy’s initiative to organize the Political Contest on Protecting the Party’s Ideological Foundation has become a national-level contest, generating significant attraction and spreading throughout the entire political and society.

(4) In line with the country’s deep international integration process, the Academy’s international cooperation activities has recently expanded in both breadth and depth, following the motto “using the outside to serve the inside”, primarily to effectively serve the tasks of training, and fostering staff, and conducting scientific research.

Currently, the Academy has cooperative relations with more than 200 international partners from 60 countries and territories. The Academy’s communication, press, publishing, and scientific information has been increasingly elevated, reaching new levels of scale and quality. The technical facilities of the entire Academy system are constantly receiving investment and modernization, with notable achievements in the development of a smart governance model, along with the standardization of the lecture hall and dormitory systems to meet the demands of quality teaching and learning. This approach is designed to provide professional, friendly, high-quality service, reflecting the distinctive culture, values, and sophistication of the Party School.

(5) Under the direct leadership and guidance of the Politburo and the Secretariat, the work of building a clean and strong Party Committee of the Academy has been performed synchronously and comprehensively, with many innovations, achieving great results that create the strength of solidarity and unity to successfully complete the political tasks entrusted by the Party, the State and people.

These great achievements are the result of inheriting the tradition and the continuity of the Academy’s developmental achievements over the years; thanks to the close, regular and direct leadership and direction of the Politburo and the Secretariat; the effective cooperation and strong assistance of the central and local departments, ministries and branches; the joint efforts, unanimity, and perseverance of many generations of leaders, cadres, civil servants, students and staff at the Academy.

Three quarters of a century of construction and growth of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, growing alongside the glorious Party and the heroic country, has woven together the quintessence of the Central Party School and valuable lessons in the mission of “cultivating people”.

These lessons include steadfastness and strength rooted in the Party’s ideological and theoretical foundation, combining the heritage of glorious tradition with a continuous spirit of innovation; placing utmost importance on building a contingent of cadres and students with strong political will, truly “virtuous and talented”, well-versed in theory and well-versed in practice. A profound understanding of the direct, regular leadership and direction of the Politburo and the Secretariat, headed by the General Secretary, is essential, as is leveraging the cooperation and assistance of central and local departments, ministries, branches, and expanding international cooperation. Furthermore, The Academy emphasizes systematic and synchronous management, building a clean and strong Party Committee at the Academy harnessing combined strength, and resolutely striving to fulfill all entrusted tasks to the highest standard.

Following the glorious tradition, proudly and confidently entering a new era of development for the country, and looking towards celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Central Party School, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics strives to become a highly prestigious national center in the region and globally for training and fostering mid-level and high-level leaders and managers, political theory scientists for the Party and the political system; a center for scientific research of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State, political science, leadership, and management science; and a center for policy and strategic advising for the Party and the State.

With awareness, responsibility and pride in the glorious historical tradition of the Party School named after beloved Uncle Ho, the Academy will continue to make efforts to innovate the training and fostering of cadres in a fundamental, systematic, practical and modern direction; elevate and improve the quality and effectiveness of scientific research, consulting on the planning of guidelines and policies for the Party and the State, primarily contributing to the drafting of documents to be submitted to the 14th National Party Congress. The Academy will continue to promote the work of political schools to build model Party Schools in localities; affectively carry out the work of researching and compiling Party history, deepening the golden history book, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the glorious Party. The Academy will continue refining its organization to be streamlined, efficient, and effective, focusing on building a team of cadres and lecturers with the courage, qualities, competencies, and credibility to meet their duties; enhancing infrastructure modernization; and building a clean, strong, united, and determined Academy Party organization to accomplish all tasks entrusted by the Party, the State, and the people.

Fully imbued with the core values of the Central Party School - “Firmness - Exemplarity - Innovation - Creativity - Service - Development” - forged and crystallized over the past 75 years, the collective leadership, cadres, lecturers, employees, and students of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics are determined to build an Academy that is distinct, modern and integrated, continually reaching new heights of development, worthy of being the Party School named after beloved Uncle Ho and excellently fulfilling his aspirations.