THE EMBROIDERED FABRIC PORTRAIT OF PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH  

Presented by President Ho Chi Minh to Mr. Ho Trong Thu in 1959  

Between 1955 and 1959, the United States pursued its strategy to seize control of Southern Vietnam and permanently divide the country. In response to this, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh initiated a plan to invite village elders, tribal leaders, and other respected figures from the Western Highlands of Thua Thien Hue to visit the North.  

That journey remains deeply etched in the memory of Mr. Ho Trong Thu (born in 1939, of the Co Tu ethnic group in A Zen Village, Huong Son Commune, Nam Dong District, Thua Thien Hue Province). At the age of 20, he was selected to both protect the delegation and serve as a young official chosen to tour the North for education, so that he could later contribute to the revolution in his homeland.  

After an educational tour of various locations in the North, the delegation had the great honor of meeting President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong on September 2, 1959, at Ba Dinh Hall in Hanoi. During this meeting, President Ho Chi Minh spoke about the significance of the August Revolution and led the group in singing the song "Solidarity." He then personally greeted each member of the delegation and gave them gifts.  

When it was Mr. Ho Trong Thu's turn - being the youngest member - President Ho Chi Minh asked, "What do you like the most?" Mr. Thu replied, "I am most delighted to meet you, Uncle." President Ho Chi Minh then gifted him a portrait of himself, with the advice: "The South is not yet liberated; on National Day, hang this picture."  

After this meeting, Mr. Ho Trong Thu and other delegation members from the Western Highlands, inspired by their time with President Ho Chi Minh, adopted "Ho" as their family name to honor him.  

On May 15, 1997, Mr. Ho Trong Thu donated the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Thua Thien Hue for preservation.