Vietnamese president Tran Dai Quang, a lifelong communist stalwart with a reputation as a hardliner, was buried in his home village Thursday in a ceremony blessed by monks, as relatives and leaders bid him a final farewell. Quang died on Friday aged 61 after a prolonged illness that officials described only as a "rare virus".
A long-serving communist apparatchik and former national police chief, Quang was celebrated by peers for his dedication to the country that he spent much of his career serving. But his legacy is a chequered one, and he will be remembered by some as a tough leader with little tolerance for dissent, even during his two years as president which saw a brutal crackdown on activists in the one-party state.
Though he was a member of the powerful politburo, his public role as president was largely ceremonial and his death is not expected to shake up politics in a country where the communist party yields enormous power. His comrades remembered him fondly at the ceremony in his home province of Ninh Binh, south of Hanoi. "We gather here at his birthplace, where he will take his final rest. May he rest in peace," Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said.
Quang's wife wept as his red coffin, emblazoned with Vietnam's national logo, was lowered into the ground by about 20 soldiers in crisp white uniforms.