This cadre was born in 1927 in the district of Dong Son in Thanh Hoa. He was active in the Viet Minh before 1945, notably working in quoc ngu literacy campaigns (truyen ba quoc ngu). He joined self-defense militias in his commune and later joined the Public Security (So Canh sat xung phong) of Thanh Hoa. Later he went to Quang Ngai to join the Army and work in propaganda and training for soldiers.