Top leadership in place to continue development steps

The nation’s leaders will roll up their sleeves to drive Vietnam forward

The National Assembly last week voted incumbent Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to hold his post for another five years.

Also 62-year-old Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member and standing member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat, was voted to be new State President.

Earlier, the session also elected 65-year-old Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung to be the National Assembly’s new Chairman.

In January, 2011, 67-year-old Nguyen Phu Trong was elected the General Secretary of the 11th Party’s Central Committee.

The leaders take on their new roles as Vietnam begins implementation of its socio-economic development strategy for the ongoing decade, which targets to transform Vietnam into an industrialised nation by 2020.

Trong said selection of the country’s leadership team was “the most important task at this session”, as it would greatly influence the quality and operational effectiveness of the state apparatus during the new term of office.

Former National Assembly Office chairman Tran Dinh Dan said candidates for such important positions had been carefully selected. “They are experienced, talented and righteous and can meet the country’s requirements,” Dan said.

After experiencing many posts in the army and in southern Kien Giang province’s leadership apparatus, Ca Mau province born Dung has been a Politburo member since 1996 and became Deputy Minister of Public Security in 1995. In between June, 1996 and August, 1997, he was head of the Central Economic Committee in charge of solving the Party’s financial issues.

From then to June, 2006, Dung was permanent deputy prime minister while taking on many other important tasks and posts, such as chairman of the National Finance and Monetary Council and head of the Central Steering Committee for State-owned Enterprises Reform. He also worked as head of the State Bank between 1998-1999.

Dung became prime minister in July, 2006. He is also head of many important committees such as Anti-Corruption Central Committee, National Council on Education, Committee on Government’s Administrative Reform, and Sub-committee for Construction of Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2011-2020.

Meanwhile, southern Long An province born Sang has a university degree in law. He acted as chairman of Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee, general secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Communist Party and was head of the Central Economic Committee before working as the Permanent Secretariat. He has been a Politburo member since 1996.

“I promise to the National Assembly, people and comrades that I will devote all my efforts to serving the nation and people, strictly and fully implementing tasks and competence of a state president stipulated by law and constitution,” Sang said.

He said he would closely combine with many bodies to “continue renewing Vietnam’s growth model, economic restructuring, boosting industrialisation and modernisation and ameliorating the economy’s competitiveness.”

Also last week, 60-year-old economic professor Nguyen Thi Doan, incumbent State Vice President was re-elected for this position. Truong Hoa Binh and Nguyen Hoa Binh were also voted as Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court and Chairman of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, respectively.