Students view archival photos at President Hồ Chí Minh with the Vietnamese National Assembly - 80 Years of Glorious Journey exhibition. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Lan

HÀ NỘI — A rich collection of rare images and documents is on display at the Hồ Chí Minh Relic Site in the Presidential Palace, tracing President Hồ Chí Minh’s enduring ties with the Vietnamese National Assembly over eight decades of national history.

Titled President Hồ Chí Minh with the Vietnamese National Assembly – 80 Years of Glorious Journey, the thematic exhibition is part of activities marking the 14th National Party Congress, the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and 80 years of the National Assembly.

President Hồ Chí Minh laid the foundation for building Việt Nam’s socialist rule-of-law state, a state of the people, by the people and for the people. On January 6, 1946, under the leadership of the Party and President Hồ Chí Minh, the first general election in the nation’s history was successfully held. The first National Assembly, born from the will and aspirations of the entire population, brought together 333 representatives who embodied national unity.

The exhibition is divided into three sections: President Hồ Chí Minh – Founder of the Vietnamese National Assembly; President Hồ Chí Minh and the Vietnamese National Assembly – A Glorious Journey; and The Vietnamese National Assembly Accompanies the Nation in a New Era.

The first section features images and documents reflecting President Hồ Chí Minh’s return to Việt Nam in 1941 and his direct leadership of the revolution for national independence.

The second highlights his role in building national unity, guiding major decisions and helping both the National Assembly and the country navigate critical historical moments.

The third presents 15 terms of the National Assembly linked to resistance, nation-building, renewal and integration, showing its role in institutionalising the Party’s guidelines, meeting the will and aspirations of the people and contributing to sustainable national development.

Alongside archival photographs and documents, the Relic Site displays artefacts connected to National Assembly elections. These include Decree No 76/SL signed by President Hồ Chí Minh on December 18, 1946, which set the nationwide election date and outlined key provisions of the 1946 National Assembly elections.

Also on display are articles about the first general election in 1946, including one in which President Hồ Chí Minh explained its significance, as well as an issue of Cứu Quốc (Saving the Nation) newspaper dated January 7, 1946 reporting the election results of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam in Hà Nội and other localities.

Notably, the exhibition features President Hồ Chí Minh’s voting card from the 1968 National Assembly election.

According to Lê Thị Phượng, Director of the Hồ Chí Minh Relic Site at the Presidential Palace, the exhibition honours the great role of President Hồ Chí Minh as founder, leader and trainer of the Communist Party of Việt Nam, and as the architect of the socialist rule-of-law state of Việt Nam.

It also affirms the role of the Hồ Chí Minh Relic Site as a centre for heritage education, linking past, present and future, and continuing to spread the values of Hồ Chí Minh’s thought in contemporary social life.

On the same occasion, another exhibition featuring 50 photographs is being held at the site, recreating the living and working spaces associated with the simple yet great life of President Hồ Chí Minh at the Relic Site from 1954 to 1969.

Each photograph captures a moment in time, from “the small house of a great soul” to trees and pebble paths still bearing traces of his footsteps.

The photos are the result of collaboration between the Hồ Chí Minh Relic Site and photographer Nguyễn Đăng Thái, who won first prize in the Beauty of the Hồ Chí Minh Relic Site at the Presidential Palace 2024 photo contest. — VNS