During the 1950s Lê became increasingly aggressive towards the South and called for reunification through war.

On 2 September 1969, Hồ died and Lê became the most powerful decision-maker in Vietnam.

The Viet Minh's stance in the South became increasingly tenuous by the early-to-mid 1950s, and in 1953 Lê was replaced by his deputy Lê Đức Thọ, and returned to North Vietnam.

In December 1957, Hồ told the 13th Plenary Session of a " dual revolution "; Chinh became responsible for the socialist transformation of North Vietnam, while Lê focused on planning the offensive in South Vietnam.

Together with Lê Đức Thọ, Head of the Party Organisational Department, and Nguyễn Chí Thanh, a military general, Lê tried to monopolise the decision-making process – this became even more evident following Hồ's death.

When Hồ died on 2 September 1969, the collective leadership he had espoused continued, but Lê became its first amongst equals.

For instance Thọ's brother, Đinh Đức Thiện was appointed Minister of Communications and Transport ; in April 1982 Đồng Sỹ Nguyên, a protege of Lê, became Minister of Transport.

After the Sino – Soviet split, the Vietnamese communist leadership became divided into two factions, pro-China and pro-Soviet ; Lê ( at the beginning ) was labeled pro-China, because of his hawkish policies towards South Vietnam.

From 1956-63, Lê played a moderating role between the two factions, but with the death of the South Vietnamese leader Ngô Đình Diệm and the Gulf of Tonkin incident, he became considerably more radical.

The eventual winner, Lê Long Đĩnh, became the most notorious tyrant in Vietnamese history.

Art and architecture during the Lê Dynasty also became more influenced by Chinese styles than during the Lý and Trần Dynasty.

He became general secretary and Vietnam's top leader in July 1986 following Lê Duẩn's death.

Through an introduction from the Archbishop of Saigon, he became secretary to the billionaire Lê Phát Đạt, Duke of Long-My, and eventually married his employer's daughter, Marie Lê Thị Binh, and inherited his title.

Crown Prince Hồng Bảo became the leader of a rebellion against Tự Đức, consisting of Confucian scholars who were angered that the family hierarchy had been dishonored ( by passing over the eldest son ) some remaining supporters of the Lê Dynasty ( who many still considered the legitimate dynasty of Vietnam ) as well as the usual peasants angry over Nguyễn taxation and the usual corrupt mandarins as well as the Roman Catholic missionaries and Christian converts who had been so persecuted by Minh Mạng and Thiệu Trị.

The first tam khôi of the Trần Dynasty were trạng nguyên Nguyễn Hiền, who was only 12 at that time, bảng nhãn Lê Văn Hưu who later became a royal historian of the Trần Dynasty, and thám hoa Đặng Ma La.

Many laureates from these examinations later became prominent officials in the royal court or well-known scholars such as Lê Văn Hưu, author of the historical accounts Đại Việt sử ký, Mạc Đĩnh Chi, renowned envoy of the Trần Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, or Nguyễn Trung Ngạn, one of the most powerful officials during the reign of Trần Minh Tông.

The Vietnamese language, and its written form chữ Nôm, became a preferred vehicle for social protest during the Lê Dynasty ( 1428-1788 ), which led to its being banned in 1663, 1718, and 1760.

In 1407, Đại Việt became Ming China's 14th province, and remained so until 1428, when the Ming were forced to withdraw by a Vietnamese independence movement led by Lê Lợi.

Lê was a founding member of the Indochina Communist Party ( the future Communist Party of Vietnam ) in 1930, but was arrested the following year, in 1931.

The post of head of state was strengthened in the 1980 Constitution by the appointment of Trường Chinh who was, by order of precedence, the second-highest-ranking member in the Politburo, behind Lê Duẩn.

The main negotiators of the agreement were United States National Security Advisor Dr. Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese politburo member Lê Ðức Thọ ; the two men were awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts, although Lê Ðức Thọ refused to accept it.

# Lê Thanh Hải ( 1950 -...), member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City's Communist Party Committee ( 2006-date )

Thiệu was rewarded with membership in the 12-man Military Revolutionary Council led by General Minh, and served as the secretary general ; the leading figures in the MRC were Generals Minh, Trần Văn Đôn, Lê Văn Kim and Tôn Thất Đính.

* 1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician ( b. 1918 )

* 1911 – Lê Ðức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize ( d. 1990 )

When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the Vietnamese leadership, led by Lê Duẩn, began to centralise power.

Because of the devolution of power, the powers of the Central Committee have increased substantially ; for instance, when a two-thirds majority of the Politburo voted in favour of retaining Lê Khả Phiêu as General Secretary ( the leader of Vietnam ), the Central Committee voted against the Politburo's motion and voted unanimously in favour of removing Lê Khả Phiêu from his post of General Secretary.

The Central Committee did this because the majority of its members were of provincial background, or were working in the provinces ; because of this, these members were the first to feel the pinch when the economy began to stagnate during Lê Khả Phiêu's rule.

* 1471: The kingdom of Champa suffers a massive defeat by the Vietnamese king Lê Thánh Tông.

* 1009: Lý Thái Tổ overthrew the Anterior Lê Dynasty of Vietnam, establishing the Lý Dynasty.

* Lê Trung Tông succeeds Lê Hoàn as the emperor of Vietnam, preceding anarchy and 8 months succession war with Long Ngân and other princes.

* Lê Ngoạ Triều succeeds Lê Trung Tông, killing him after just three days of reign, beginning tyrannical executions.

* January 30 – Lê Thánh Tông, King of Vietnam ( b. 1442 )

* Lam Sơn uprising: Lê Lợi, founder of the Lê Dynasty in Vietnam, liberates Annam ( the territory occupied by Ming Dynasty China in 1407 ) and restores the kingdom as Đại Việt.

Bùi Diễm, later South Vietnam's Ambassador to the United States, reported in his memoirs that General Lê Văn Kim requested his aid in learning what the U. S. might do about Diệm's government.

In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive the insurgency entitled " The Road to the South " to the other members of the Politburo in Hanoi.

But as China and the Soviets both opposed confrontation at this time, Lê Duẩn's plan was rejected and communists in the South were ordered to limit themselves to economic struggle.

Leadership divided into a " North first ", or pro-Beijing, faction led by Trường Chinh, and a " South first " faction led by Lê Duẩn.

Lê Duẩn's blueprint for revolution in the South was approved in principle, but implementation was conditional on winning international support and on modernizing the army, which was expected to take at least until 1959.

Nguyễn Hữu Xuyên was assigned military command in the South, replacing Lê Duẩn, who was appointed North Vietnam's acting party boss.

In November, Hồ traveled to Moscow with Lê Duẩn and gained approval for a more militant line.

In early 1958, Lê Duẩn met with the leaders of " Inter-zone V " ( northern South Vietnam ) and ordered the establishment of patrols and safe areas to provide logistical support for activity in the Mekong Delta and in urban areas.