Lê Duẩn
By 1958, Lê Duẩn ranked second only to Hồ in the party hierarchy, although Trường Chinh remained powerful. Lê Duẩn was a party man and never held a post in the government. He made a brief, secret visit to South Vietnam in 1958, writing a report, "The Path to Revolution in the South", in which he stated that the North Vietnamese had to do more to assist the southern fighters. The Central Committee decided to initiate the revolution in January 1959.