Lê Thánh Tông (chữ Hán: 黎聖宗, 20 July 1442 – 30 January 1497) was an emperor of Later Lê dynasty during 1460 – 1497; his era was eulogized as the Prospered reign of Hồng Đức (洪德之盛治).

Lê Thánh Tông- full name Hạo (灝), courtesy name Tư Thành (思誠), pseudonym Đạo Am chủ nhân (道庵主人), rhymed name Tao Đàn nguyên súy (騷壇元帥), formal title Thiên Nam động chủ (天南洞主), was the son of emperor Lê Thái Tông and his consort Ngô Thị Bính. He was a half-brother of Lê Nhân Tông and it is likely that his mother and consort Nguyễn Thị Anh (the mother of Lê Nhân Tông) were related (cousins or perhaps sisters). He was educated just like his half brother, the emperor, at the palace in Hanoi. When his elder half brother, Nghi Dân, staged a coup and killed the emperor in 1459, Prince Tư Thành was spared. Nine months later, when the second counter-coup was successfully carried out, the plotters asked Prince Tư Thành to become the new emperor and he accepted.

The leaders of the counter-coup which removed and killed Nghi Dân were two of the last surviving friends and aides of Lê Lợi- Nguyễn Xí and Đinh Liệt. The pair had been out of power since the 1440s, but they still commanded respect due to their association with the dynasty's founder, Lê Lợi. The new emperor appointed these men to the highest positions in his new government- Nguyễn Xí became one of the emperor's councilors and Đinh Liệt was gifted command over the army of Annam.

Lê Thánh Tông created and widely distributed a new legal code- also called 'Hồng Đức'. The new laws were

"based on Chinese law but included distinctly Vietnamese features, such as recognition of the higher position of women in Vietnamese society than in Chinese society. Under the new code, parental consent was not required for marriage, and daughters were granted equal inheritance rights with sons. U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies – Vietnam

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