Gus Hall
| Gus Hall | |
|---|---|
Hall in 1984
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| General Secretary of the National Committee of the Communist Party USA | |
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In office 1959–2000 |
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| Vice President |
Jarvis Tyner Angela Davis |
| Preceded by | Eugene Dennis |
| Succeeded by | Sam Webb |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Arvo Kustaa Halberg October 8, 1910 Cherry Township, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 2000 (aged 90) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Communist |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Mary Turner |
| Children | Arvo, Barbara |
| Residence | Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | International Lenin School |
| Occupation | Lumberjack, miner, steel worker, trade unionist, political writer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Machinist's mate |
| Battles/wars | Pacific War |
Gus Hall (born Arvo Kustaa Halberg; October 8, 1910 – October 13, 2000) was a leader and chairman of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and its four-time U.S. presidential candidate. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel manufacturers. During the Second Red Scare, Hall was indicted under the Smith Act and was sentenced to eight years in prison. After his release, Hall led the CPUSA for over 40 years, often taking an orthodox Marxist–Leninist stance.
Hall was born Arvo Kustaa Halberg in 1910 in Cherry, a rural community on Northern Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range. He was the son of Matt (Matti) and Susan (Susanna) Halberg. Hall's parents were Finnish immigrants from the Lapua region, and were politically radical: they were involved in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and were early members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in 1919. The Mesabi Range was one of the most important immigration settlements for Finns, who were often active in labor militancy and political activism. Hall's home language was Finnish, and he conversed with his nine siblings in that language for the rest of his life. He did not know political terminology in Finnish and used mostly English when meeting with visiting Finnish Communists.
Hall grew up in a Communist home and was involved early on in politics. According to Hall, after his father was banned from working in the mines for joining an IWW strike, the family grew up in near starvation in a log cabin built by Halberg.
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