As Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers (June 1988 - August 1991), Chairman of the Council of Ministers (August 1991 - October 1992), Prime Minister (October 1992 - December 1997), Kiệt proposed and directed the development and implementation of many groundbreaking policies such as: eliminating ordinance targets, granting business autonomy to state-owned enterprises; commercialize means of production, allowing large enterprises, both central and local, to directly import and export, ending the situation of two prices; abolish the mandatory purchasing regime imposed on farmers, abolish the river ban on markets, implement the free circulation of goods throughout the country, gradually transition the economy from a subsidized to a market economy.

Võ Văn Kiệt was a member of the Viet Minh independence movement, he fought against the French colonial powers in the First Indochina War (1946–54) in Southern Vietnam.

In the early postwar years, South Vietnam's economy deteriorated rapidly due to the withdrawal of US investment and the harsh Stalinist policies enforced by central government.

[6] As the head of the city government, Võ Văn Kiệt realized that the Soviet economic model was flawed and secretly promoted trade and manufacturing behind the state's back.

[8] As Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Võ Văn Kiệt was then faced with two options: strictly comply with the state's purchasing price or "break the barrier" to find a way to buy rice to save the country.

[8] During the 1978-1979 period, Ho Chi Minh City also faced a shortage of imported sources, causing the input of the entire production to decline, leading to a crisis in goods and labor.

His tenure marked the advance of the administrative branch at the expense of the influence of the Party's institutions, when the power was shared by three top leaders: himself as Prime Minister, General Secretary Đỗ Mười, and President Lê Đức Anh.

Later, Minister of Energy Vũ Ngọc Hải, who created the North-South 500kV power transmission line project, was convicted of irresponsibility in management and sentenced to three years in prison, as were a number of related officials who were dismissed from their posts.

On 25 February 1992, the Government approved the economic-technical thesis with a completion time decision of 2 years and due to the emergency period, allowing implementation by survey, design, import of materials and equipment and construction to be carried out in parallel.

After more than 2 years of building the 500kV North - South Line, circuit 1, at exactly 7:00 p.m., 7 minutes and 59 seconds on 27 May 1994, Võ Văn Kiệt ordered the Southern power system to be merged with 4 units of the Hydroelectric Plant Hòa Bình in Đà Nẵng.

Representing the reformists, Võ Văn Kiệt advocated for further privatisation of the state dominated economy, as well as democratization - an approach criticised by his political rivals as dangerous to "socialist orientation".

[19] The government of Vietnam announced a state funeral on June 14 and 15 to be held in the Reunification Palace (Ho Chi Minh City), Hanoi, and his birth province Vĩnh Long.

The coffin was draped in Vietnam's red flag[22] with a gold star and enclosed in a glass case for transportation on a gun carriage through city streets to the national cemetery for burial.

Tens of thousands[23] of mourners lined the streets to honor Võ Văn Kiệt as his coffin was carried in a procession of military vehicles through Hồ Chí Minh City to be cremated.

The country's political elite paid their respects in Reunification Palace, where Communist Party chief Nông Đức Mạnh headed long lines of mourners who filed past Võ Văn Kiệt's coffin from early Saturday.

In a statement, current Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng paid tribute to Võ Văn Kiệt as "a wholehearted, loyal, irrepressible and heroic revolutionary.

The eulogy for Võ Văn Kiệt was given by communist party leader Nông Đức Mạnh at the Reunification Palace[24] in Hồ Chí Minh City, where his body had been lying in state.

Võ Văn Kiệt's flag-draped coffin, carried in a glass case and accompanied by a military procession, was then taken through the streets, where thousands of mourners waited to pay tribute.

One of his comrades in arms, Trần Quốc Hương, former head of intelligence for the Việt Cộng network in South Vietnam, wrote in the condolence book: "I was deeply moved by your death.

"[25] In his final weeks, Võ Văn Kiệt also spoke out against the expansion of the capital Hanoi[26] and expressed concern whether Vietnam could protect itself against rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Out of office, since 1997, Võ Văn Kiệt remained active in politics, publishing commentaries pushing for more liberalisation even as Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2007 and averaged annual GDP growth of 7.5 percent since 2000.