Le Duc Tho

(lā do͞oc tō), pseud. of Phan Dinh Khai (fän dĭn kī), 1911–90, Vietnamese political leader. A Vietnamese nationalist and one of the founders (1930) of the Indochinese Communist party, he opposed the French colonial regime, which twice (1930–36, 1939–44) imprisoned him. After independence and partition (1954) and Tho's appointment (1955–86) to the party politburo, he played a leading role in the North Vietnamese military during the Vietnam WarVietnam War,
conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. The war began soon after the Geneva Conference provisionally divided (1954) Vietnam at 17° N lat.
..... Click the link for more information. . From 1968 to 1973 he was a key member of the North Vietnamese delegation to the Paris Peace Conferences. As North Vietnam's principal spokesman, Tho, along with Henry KissingerKissinger, Henry Alfred
, 1923–, American political scientist and U.S. secretary of state (1973–77), b. Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1938. A leading expert on international relations and nuclear defense policy, Kissinger taught (1957–69) at
..... Click the link for more information. , the United States' chief negotiator, hammered out the ceasefire of 1973. Both men were awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize, but Tho declined the prize, saying peace had not yet been established.