Eulogy at the memorial service for Associate Professor, Doctor, and Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang

Saturday - 07/04/2018 10:31

The eulogy was read by Professor Pham Quang Minh (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) at the memorial service for Associate Professor Pham Xuan Hang.

Dear Sir/Madam

Representatives of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front

Hanoi City Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, and Fatherland Front

Leaders of Hanoi National University and the teachers.

Dear elders, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, friends near and far, and all members of the bereaved family.

Respectfully addressing the departed soul of Associate Professor, Doctor, and Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang!

Associate Professor, Doctor, Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang, an exemplary educator, our beloved and dear comrade, is no longer with us. The passionate heart of a person wholeheartedly dedicated to the cause of education, always concerned about the issues of the country and the people, stopped beating at 9:14 PM on April 1st, which is February 18th, 2018 (Year of the Dog), amidst the immeasurable grief of his family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and students.

Today, we gather here to remember and bid farewell to Associate Professor, Doctor, Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang - a dedicated official who devoted his life to fulfilling every task entrusted to him by the Party, the State, and society, as he departs to the eternal realm.

Associate Professor, Doctor, Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang was born on May 15, 1950, into a farming family in Thuong Hien commune, Kien Xuong district, Thai Binh province – a rural area rich in cultural and humanistic values, as he once wrote, "a poor homeland, but the lullabies are not poor." Orphaned at a young age, in 1966, he and his younger sister followed their mother to Lao Cai to reclaim land. Thanks to the teachings and profound influence of his mother's decisive, bold, and strong character, who nurtured him not only with "heavy ears of corn, a path still to follow" but also with "lullabies embracing the land and sky of his homeland."

After graduating from high school, he was sent by the State to study Archival and Historical Studies in the Soviet Union. Upon returning to Vietnam, he became a lecturer in the Department of Archival Studies, then the Department of Historical Sources, within the Faculty of History. This new field and new job further challenged the young officer's ability to surpass himself. He diligently worked on new lectures and, from there, made significant contributions to the development of the department and the field of Historical Sources.

In 1988, he was sent to study at the Moscow Institute of Archives and History – the institution that led him to his lifelong career. During those years, his knowledge was further enriched, becoming the springboard for his later scientific works. His textbooks and monographs on historiography are valuable scientific resources for the field. For the past 10 years, despite being busy with administrative work and declining health due to age and illness, he has still devoted much energy and passion to working with colleagues to build the Department of Management Science, now the Faculty of Management Science, making significant contributions to the field and to society.

Not only is Associate Professor Pham Xuan Hang dedicated to teaching, but he is also a responsible and highly capable leader and manager, always wholeheartedly committed to fulfilling his assigned duties and responsibilities. Starting as Deputy Head of the History Department in 1992, he continuously held the positions of Vice Rector in 1995, then Party Secretary in 1999, and Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Throughout his 10 years as Vice Rector and then Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, he devoted all his energy, dedication, and initiatives to the cause of education, contributing to the university's growth and strengthening, establishing its position as a leading and heroic university. With unwavering resolve, enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and especially a high sense of responsibility and a compassionate heart, he dared to take on difficulties, stood alongside his colleagues, and quickly matured through practical experience.

In 2005, he was transferred to work at the Hanoi City Party Committee, where he was elected a Standing Committee member and Head of the City Party Committee's Propaganda Department. Many cadres and Party members still remember him as a Head of the Propaganda Department who was deeply involved in the vibrant realities of life in the capital, enthusiastic, honest, and practical in disseminating the Party and State's policies and guidelines to the grassroots. Then, when implementing the National Assembly's Resolution to expand the capital's boundaries, for the common good, he moved on to assume the position of Chairman of the Hanoi City Fatherland Front. In this new position, he made many important contributions, implemented many initiatives, was close to the people, and was loved and trusted by the people. Not only did he excel in organizing and mobilizing the masses and implementing the principle of national unity, but he also actively participated in social criticism. He did not shy away from difficult issues and thorny realities, and actively participated in the democratization of the Fatherland Front's work. It seems that his heartfelt thoughts now have the opportunity to contribute to the country. He has become a conduit for the people's aspirations, fostering their trust in the government. In 2015, despite having transferred to a school, he was still trusted and nominated by the Vietnam Fatherland Front to be elected as a non-executive Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

In all the organizations and units where he worked, everyone always remembers him as a colleague and a highly skilled leader, steadfast in principles, decisive, energetic, but also a good listener, willing to change himself for the better. His greatest qualities were honesty, straightforwardness, unwavering resolve in the face of any problem, sharing, and humanity. Collaborating with him, colleagues found trust, a solid support system, and a goodwill towards positive outcomes. Since receiving news of his passing, many colleagues, friends, and students have sent the school their deepest condolences, expressing their affection and sorrow for a colleague, a comrade, and a teacher who has departed too soon to the eternal realm.

Ladies and gentlemen!

For his contributions to education, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor, Distinguished Teacher, First-Class Labor Medal, two Third-Class Labor Medals, National Emulation Fighter, and numerous commendations and certificates from various levels. He was not only a Party member with over 30 years of Party membership but also an exemplary Party member, a true and genuine communist. He embodied the intellectual class nurtured by the people and the regime, who dared to choose and pursue to the end the path they believed to be right.

Within his family, he was a dutiful son, a loving husband, a strict but compassionate father, and a beloved grandfather. He also fulfilled his responsibilities not only to his extended family and relatives on both sides, but also to his beloved hometown of Thai Binh.

With the passing of Associate Professor, Doctor, and Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang, his family has lost a loved one who wholeheartedly cared for the happiness and traditions of the family and clan; his friends and neighbors have lost a friend and neighbor who was always amiable and cheerful; his colleagues, friends, and students have lost an educator who dedicated his life to the school, an exemplary officer known for his simplicity, enthusiasm, and loyalty to his profession. He has departed to the eternal realm, but he leaves behind an enduring sense of loss and remembrance for his children, relatives, loved ones, friends, and colleagues.

Respectfully addressing the departed soul of Associate Professor, Doctor, and Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang!

Ladies and gentlemen!

Dear bereaved family!

During his serious illness, despite the doctors' best efforts to save him and the care of his children and grandchildren, who can escape birth, aging, sickness, and death? He has passed away. On behalf of the Funeral Organizing Committee, colleagues, friends, comrades, students, relatives, neighbors, and the community, we would like to share this grief with the family. May his soul rest in peace.

Before bidding farewell and accompanying him to his final resting place, please observe a minute of silence. The minute of silence begins now.

Thank you very much!

* Some photos from the funeral of Associate Professor, Doctor, Meritorious Teacher Pham Xuan Hang in his hometown of Thai Binh.