Labor Hero and People’s Doctor, Professor Nguyen Thien Thanh passed away on October 8 in Ho Chi Minh City at the ripe old age of 95.
The professor was the first Director of Thong Nhat Hospital and made outstanding contributions in building and developing the hospital. He was founder of the Geriatrics Society and Chairman of the Geriatrics Department at Thong Nhat Hospital.
Professor Nguyen Thien Thanh was born in a teacher family in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh. He joined the army after graduating from the Medicine University of Indochina in Hanoi in 1945.
After reunification in 1975, he was made Director of Thong Nhat Hospital. He was also the Chairman of the Geriatrics Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy from 1989-1996.
Professor Thanh received many Party, State and Army awards for his dedication and contribution, including the ‘Labor Hero’ in 1985 and ‘People’s Doctor’ in 1989. He was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hospital Management Asia Conference in 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Professor was father of Politburo Member and Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.
