Võ Thị Thắng

Võ Thị Thắng (; 10 December 1945 – 22 August 2014) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and stateswoman. She was a member of the Long An delegation to the National Assembly of Vietnam during its fourth, fifth, and sixth sessions (1975 to 1981). She later served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam during its eighth and ninth congresses (1996 to 2006), the Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Chairwoman of the Vietnam–Cuba Friendship Association, and the Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Union.

Outside of Vietnam, she is most well known for a photograph of her smiling at her sentencing for an attempted assassination during the Vietnam War. The photograph is popularly known as the "Smile of Victory" and has become a symbol of Vietnamese women who fought in the war.

Early life Võ Thị Thắng was born on 10 December 1945 in what is now Tân Bửu commune, Tây Ninh province, Vietnam. She was the youngest of eight siblings, and her family members were supporters of the North Vietnamese government.

At the age of 16, Thắng joined the underground National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF). When she was 17, she moved to Saigon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City) and joined the local branches of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and Vietnamese Students' Association, which were banned under the South Vietnamese government. Progressive International, however, provides a translation of a different retort: "Your government will not last that long." A photograph of Thắng smiling, taken by a Japanese reporter at her sentencing, became popularly known as the "Smile of Victory", a symbol of Vietnamese women who fought in the Vietnam War.

She was elected to the fourth (1971–1975), fifth (1975–1976), and sixth (1976–1981) sessions of the National Assembly of Vietnam as a representative of Long An Province, as well as to the eighth and ninth congresses of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the award ceremony on 10 September 2015, at the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

A primary school in Havana, Cuba, is named after her.

Awards