Mr Thach said that America's intervention in Vietnam was now in the past: and the Americans, unlike the French, were not colonialists.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Co Thach

Mr Thach's colleagues in the Politburo became restless that his efforts to secure ties with America did not seem to be producing results (it was not until 1995 that the two countries established diplomatic relations).

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Co Thach

In 1980, after some 20 years of arguing Vietnam's cause, Mr Thach became boss of the foreign ministry and pursued a policy that amounted to a single aim: making friends with the United States.

ECONOMIST: Nguyen Co Thach