President of Vietnam

President of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
*Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam*
President of the; Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam
	Incumbent; Nguyễn Xuân Phúc; since 5 April 2021
Style	Mr. President / Đồng chí ; (comrade) (formal) ; His Excellency; (formal)
Status	Head of state ; 1st or 2nd in Politburo of the Communist Party
Member of	Central Committee of the Communist Party; Central Police Party Committee; Central Military Commission; National Assembly; Council for National Defense and Security
Residence	Presidential Palace, Hanoi, Vietnam
Nominator	Standing Committee of the National Assembly
Appointer	National Assembly
Term length	5 years; renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Vietnam
Inaugural holder	Hồ Chí Minh; 26 August 1945
Formation	2 September 1945
Deputy	Vice President of Vietnam
Salary	VND 15,730,000 monthly
Website	Official website (Vietnamese)

The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, lit. Chairman of the state) is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the Vietnam National Assembly from delegates of the National Assembly. Since Vietnam is a single-party state, the president is generally considered to hold the second highest position in the political system, after the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In addition, the president appoints the head of government, the Prime Minister. As head of state, the President represents Vietnam both domestically and internationally, and maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government and safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of the country.

The president must be a delegate of the National Assembly and is traditionally a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Central Committee of the Communist Party nominates candidates to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly then confirms and nominates those candidates for official election by all delegates of the National Assembly.

The President appoints the Vice President, Prime Minister, Ministers and other officials with the consent of the National Assembly. The President is furthermore the Supreme Commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces, Chairman of the Council for Defense and Security. Moreover, Member of Political Bureau, Standing Member of the Central Military Commission and the Central Police Party Committee. Since September 2011, the President is also the Head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform. The tenure of the President is five years, and a president can only serve three terms. If the President becomes unable to discharge duties of office, the Vice President assumes the office of acting president until the President resumes duty, or until the election of a new president.

The powers and prestige of the office of President have varied over the years. For instance, while the inaugural president, Hồ Chí Minh, was also the Chairman of the Communist Party, making him (in that capacity) the first ranking member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, his successor, Tôn Đức Thắng, served as a symbolic figure along with the General Secretary Lê Duẩn. Since Trường Chinh's ascension to the presidency, the President has been ranked 1st (he was sometimes also chairman of the party) or 2nd in the order of precedence of the Communist Party's Politburo except President Nguyễn Minh Triết ranked fourth and President Võ Chí Công ranked third.

The current President is Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, who was elected by the National Assembly in April 2021.^[2] Nguyễn Phú Trọng is the third person to concurrently serve as head of the Party and State, with the other two people to have done so being Hồ Chí Minh and Trường Chinh.

History[]

Hồ Chí Minh was appointed Vietnam's first president in 1946 by the National Assembly.^[3] Both the 1946 and 1959 Constitutions stated that the National Assembly had the power to appoint and dismiss the President. The President represented Vietnam both internally and externally. The powers and responsibilities of the President remained unchanged in the 1959 constitution. The 1980 constitution transformed the office of head of state dramatically. The office of President was abolished and replaced with the office of Chairman of the Council of State (CC). The CC chairmanship was modelled after the Soviet office of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. The Council of State, as with the Council of Ministers, was a collective decision-making body. Both the Council of State and the Council of Ministers were part of the executive branch; the strengthening of these institutions weakened the role of the legislative branch.^[4] The duties, powers and responsibilities of the Council of State were taken from the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, which lost most of its powers and prestige in the 1980 Constitution.

The members of the Council of State were elected by the National Assembly and consisted of a chairman, deputy chairmen, a General Secretary and other members. Council of State members could not concurrently be members of the Council of Ministers. The Chairman of the Council of State was concurrently Chairman of the National Defense Council (later the National Defense and Security Council) and commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces. The Council of State supervised the works of other institutions, most notably the Council of Ministers, the Supreme People's Organ for Control and the People's Councils at all levels. It also presided over the elections of the National Assembly. The office of Chairman of the Council of State, the head of state, was abolished in the 1992 Constitution and replaced by the office of President.

The importance of the President has not remained constant throughout Vietnamese history. For instance, while Hồ Chí Minh was ranked as first member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, his successor, Tôn Đức Thắng, was a symbolic figure with little power.^[5] The post of head of state was strengthened in the 1980 Constitution by the appointment of Trường Chinh who was, by order of precedence, the second-highest-ranking member in the Politburo, behind Lê Duẩn.^[6] The office of President retained the second highest rank in the Politburo order of precedence until Nguyễn Minh Triết was appointed in 2006; he ranked fourth in the Politburo hierarchy. The Politburo elected in the aftermath of the 11th National Party Congress (held in January 2011) by the Central Committee elected Trương Tấn Sang, the current President, the first-ranking member of the Politburo.^[7] This was the first time in Vietnamese history where the highest-ranking member of the Politburo does not hold post of either General Secretary or Chairman (was in existence from 1951 to 1969) of the party.^[8]^[9] Since Trương Tấn Sang is first-ranked member of the Politburo, he is the body's unofficial head. Politburo meetings are held regularly; decisions within the Politburo are made through collective decision-making, and policies are only enacted if a majority of Politburo members supports them.^[10]

Term of office[]

The President is selected for a term of office of five years. The term of office of the incumbent president continues until the President-elect takes office

On assuming office, the president takes the following oath before the parliament:

In my capacity as President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, I swear complete allegiance to the country, people, and constitution; to fulfill the tasks assigned by the State, and people^[11]

Duties, powers and responsibilities[]

Presidential Palace, Hanoi

The President is the head of state of Vietnam, and his main priority is to represent Vietnam internally and externally.^[3] The officeholder is elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam, is responsible to it and reports to it. The tenure of the President is five years, the same as that of the National Assembly. The President continues to serve in his functions until the National Assembly elects a successor. The President has the following executive and legislative powers:

To promulgate laws, decree-laws and the Constitution,
To suspend the implementation or abrogation of the documents of the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister which contravene the Constitution and the Laws
To act as the country's commander-in-chief and holds the office of Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council of Vietnam,
To convene meetings of the National Defense and Security Council of Vietnam,
The President shall take measures to protect the sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam its independence and state integrity, and ensure concerted functioning and interaction of all bodies of state power,
To propose to the National Assembly the election or dismissal from office of the Vice President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the Head of the Supreme People's Office of Supervision and Control,
The President has the right to preside over meetings of the Government of Vietnam,
To appoint or dismiss officials, staff and employees of the Office of the President,
To appoint or dismiss Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and other members of the government,
To proclaim a state of war or amnesty,
On the basis of a Standing Committee resolution, the President can order a general or partial mobilisation, or can proclaim a state of emergency nationwide or in a particular region,
To propose that the Standing Committee review its decree-laws and resolutions on matters stipulated in Points 8 and 9, Article 91, within the space of ten days following their adoption; if those decree-laws and resolutions are again passed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly with the country's President dissenting, the latter shall report the matter to the National Assembly for it to decide the issue at its nearest session,
To appoint or dismiss the Deputy Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme People's Court and the Deputy Director of the Supreme People's Office of Supervision and Control,
To appoint or dismiss the Chief of General Staff, Vice Chief of General Staff, Chief of the General Department of Politics and the Vice Chief of the General Political Department
To confer titles and ranks on senior officers of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and bestows "diplomatic titles and ranks, and other State titles and ranks; to confer medals, badges and State honours and distinctions",
To appoint and recall ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, and receive foreign ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, to negotiate and sign international agreements on behalf of the Socialist Republic with the Heads of other States; he can approve or join international agreements, except in cases where a decision by the National Assembly is necessary,
To grant Vietnamese nationality, release from Vietnamese nationality, or deprive of Vietnamese nationality,
To hold Head of Steering Committee of the Central Judicial Reform,
To supervise the detection and handles all corrupt behaviors,
To hold Director of the Economic Council.

The National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) is composed of the President, the Prime Minister and other members. The members of the NDSC are proposed by the President and approved by the National Assembly. NDSC members do not need to be members of the National Assembly. The decision-making process of the NDSC is that of a collective leadership. Among its powers is the right to mobilise all forces in the name of national defense, and in case of war the National Assembly can entrust the NDSC with special duties and powers.

Order of succession[]

Article 93 of the Constitution of Vietnam. In the event of the president not being able to discharge the duties of his/her office, Vice President, the Prime Minister and ministers in line of the order of succession shall be the acting president

Vice President
Prime Minister
Minister of National Defence
Minister of Public Security
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Home Affairs
Minister of Justice
Minister of Finance
Minister of Transport
Minister of Construction
Minister of Education and Training
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Minister of Industry and Trade
Minister of Planning and Investment
Minister of Science and Technology
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
Minister of information and Communications
Leaders of the Government Inspectorate
Governor of the State Bank
Leaders of the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs
Leaders of the Government Office
Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Minister of Health

References[]

Citations[]

^ News, V. T. C. (13 August 2016). "Lương của Chủ tịch nước, Thủ tướng, Chủ tịch Quốc hội là bao nhiêu? - VTC News". Báo VTC.
^ "Vietnam parliament elects Communist Party chief as president". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Political system". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
^ Ronald J. Cima (December 1987). Ronald J. Cima (ed.). Vietnam: A country study. Federal Research Division. Constitutional Evolution. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Duong 2008, p. 135.
^ Porter 1993, p. 77.
^ "Party Congress announces CPVCC Politburo members". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
^ Staff writer. "Political Bureau". Ban chấp hành Trung ương, Bộ Chính trị, Ban Bí thư [Central Committee, Politburo, Secretariat] (in Vietnamese). Communist Party of Vietnam. pp. I–X. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
^ Staff writer. "Đồng chí Nguyễn Phú Trọng được bầu làm Tổng Bí thư" [Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong is elected General Secretary]. (in Vietnamese). Communist Party of Vietnam. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
^ Staff writer. "Điều lệ Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam thông qua tại Đại hội đại biểu toàn quốc lần thứ XI của Đảng" [The Charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam which was approved at the 11th National Congress]. 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
^ Staff writer. "the president takes the following oath before the National Congress". . Retrieved 2 April 2016.

Works cited[]

Duong, Van Nguyen (2008). The Tragedy of the Vietnam War: A South Vietnamese Officer's Analysis. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786432851.
Porter, Gareth (1993). Vietnam: The Politics of Bureaucratic Socialism. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801421686.

[vtc.vn-1] News, V. T. C. (13 August 2016). "Lương của Chủ tịch nước, Thủ tướng, Chủ tịch Quốc hội là bao nhiêu? - VTC News". Báo VTC.

[2] "Vietnam parliament elects Communist Party chief as president". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2018-11-05.

[Politicalsystem-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Political system". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Retrieved 20 April 2012.

[cs-4] Ronald J. Cima (December 1987). Ronald J. Cima (ed.). Vietnam: A country study. Federal Research Division. Constitutional Evolution. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[FOOTNOTEDuong2008135-5] Duong 2008, p. 135.

[FOOTNOTEPorter199377-6] Porter 1993, p. 77.

[7] "Party Congress announces CPVCC Politburo members". Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

[8] Staff writer. "Political Bureau". Ban chấp hành Trung ương, Bộ Chính trị, Ban Bí thư [Central Committee, Politburo, Secretariat] (in Vietnamese). Communist Party of Vietnam. pp. I–X. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

[9] Staff writer. "Đồng chí Nguyễn Phú Trọng được bầu làm Tổng Bí thư" [Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong is elected General Secretary]. (in Vietnamese). Communist Party of Vietnam. Retrieved 13 January 2014.

[charter-10] Staff writer. "Điều lệ Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam thông qua tại Đại hội đại biểu toàn quốc lần thứ XI của Đảng" [The Charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam which was approved at the 11th National Congress]. 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.

[President-11] Staff writer. "the president takes the following oath before the National Congress". . Retrieved 2 April 2016.

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show v t Heads of state of Vietnam since 1945
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945–1976)	Ho Chi Minh Huỳnh Thúc Kháng¹ Tôn Đức Thắng
State of Vietnam (1949–1955)	Bảo Đại Ngô Đình Diệm¹
Republic of Vietnam (1955–1975)	Ngô Đình Diệm Dương Văn Minh² Nguyễn Khánh² Provisional Leadership Committee³ Dương Văn Minh² Phan Khắc Sửu² Nguyễn Văn Thiệu² Trần Văn Hương Dương Văn Minh
Republic of South Vietnam (1969–1976)	Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)	Tôn Đức Thắng (1976–1980) Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1980–1981)¹ Council of State (1981–1987) (Chairman: Trường Chinh)³ Council of State (1987–1992) (Chairman: Võ Chí Công)³ Lê Đức Anh (1992–1997) Trần Đức Lương (1997–2006) Nguyễn Minh Triết (2006–2011) Trương Tấn Sang (2011–2016) Trần Đại Quang (2016–2018) Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (2018)¹ Nguyễn Phú Trọng (2018–2021) Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (2021–present)
¹acting ²military ³collective leadership

show v t Leaders of Southeast Asian countries
Heads of state	Brunei (Monarch) Cambodia (Monarch) East Timor (President) Indonesia (President) (list) Laos (President) Malaysia (Monarch) Myanmar (President) (list) Philippines (President) (list) Singapore (President) Thailand (Monarch) (list) Vietnam (President) (list)
Heads of government	Brunei Cambodia (list) East Timor Indonesia (list) Laos Malaysia Myanmar (list) Philippines (list) Singapore Thailand (list) Vietnam (list)
Supreme leaders	Laos Myanmar Vietnam
Defunct heads of state and government	Burma (Monarch) Dutch East Indies (Governor-General) Indonesia (Prime Minister) Laos (Monarch) Myanmar (State Counsellor) Philippines (Governor-General) (Prime Minister) Vietnam (Monarch) South Vietnam (leaders)
ASEAN