Ho Chi Minh (1890 - 1969), born Nguyen Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyen Ai Quoc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945-1955) and president (1945-1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the formation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Vietcong during the Vietnam War until his death in 1969. Ho led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. He lost political power in 1955-when he was replaced as prime minister-but remained the highly visible figurehead of North Vietnam-through the presidency-until his death. The capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, after the Fall of Saigon, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor.