The charismatic Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), also known as Nguyen Ai Quoc, was born in central Vietnam. During his travelling youth, he joined the French Communist Party in Paris in 1920 and later became a Communist agent. In 1930 he founded the Indochinese Communist Party. In 1941 he returned to Vietnam and created the Vietminh to fight Japanese and French domination. In September 1945 he proclaimed the independence of Vietnam and became President of North Vietnam until his death in 1969.

Ho Chi Minh's program for Communist Indochina, 1930 (Excerpts)
From the Modern History Sourcebook at Fordham University
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1930hochiminh.html

Ho Chi Minh drafted this program for a conference of Vietnamese communists meeting in Hong Kong. The first two points of the program are the overthrow of the French colonial regime and the Independence of Vietnam.

Text of the Declaration of Independence of Vietnam, Sept. 1945
From Tom Dier's Vietnam Page
http://greene.xtn.net/~wingman/docs/declarat.htm

The Declaration of Independence of Vietnam was drafted by Ho Chi Minh with the assistance of an officer of the OSS (precursor to the CIA), who supplied Ho with the text of the American Declaration of Independence (note the first lines of Ho's address).

Manifesto of the Lao Dong Party (the Worker's Party), 1951
From the Modern History Sourcebook at Fordham University
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1951laodong.html

Ho Chi Minh tried to broaden his support base with the foundation of the Worker's Party, which he hoped would appeal to a larger segment of the population. In the Manifesto, Ho guarantees "the right of the patriotic landlords to collect land rent in accordance with the law," and promises support for minorities, women, the national bourgeoisie, as well as freedom of worship.

Letter exchange between Ho Chi Minh and Lyndon Johnson
From the Modern History Sourcebook at Fordham University
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1967-vietnam-letters1.html

In February 1967 Johnson offered direct negotiations between North Vietnam and the U.S. In his response, Ho demands the unconditional halt of the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam as a precondition for talks.