Head of state of Vietnam
The
president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(
Vietnamese
:
Ch? t?ch n??c C?ng hoa xa h?i ch? ngh?a Vi?t Nam
,
lit.
'Chairman of the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam') is the
head of state
of
Vietnam
, elected by the
National Assembly of Vietnam
from its delegates. Since Vietnam is a
one-party state
, candidates for the post are nominated by the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
. The officeholder is generally considered to hold the second-highest position
[2]
in the political system, practically after the
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
.
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
. In addition, the President has traditionally been a member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party
and a member of the
Politburo
. The
Central Committee of the Communist Party
nominates candidates to the
Standing Committee of the National Assembly
, which 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 nominal supreme
Commander-in-chief
of the
Vietnam People's Armed Forces
and Chairman of the
Council for National Defense and Security
. Additionally, the President is also a member of
the Central Military Commission
and the Central Police Party Committee. Since September 2011, the President is also the Chairman of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform.
The powers and prestige of the office of president have varied over the years. For instance, while the inaugural president,
H? Chi 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,
Ton đ?c Th?ng
, was not a member of the Politburo and served as a symbolic figure under General Secretary
Le Du?n
. Since
Tr??ng Chinh
's ascension to the presidency, the president has been ranked 1st (if concurrently served as General Secretary) or 2nd in the order of precedence of the Communist Party's Politburo, except for President
Nguy?n Minh Tri?t
(who ranked fourth) and President
Vo Chi Cong
(who ranked third). Three persons served concurrently as head of both the party and state:
H? Chi Minh
(1951?1969),
Tr??ng Chinh
(1986) and
Nguy?n Phu Tr?ng
(2018?2021).
The tenure of the presidency is five years, and a president can only serve three terms. If the President becomes unable to discharge duties of office, the Vice President will assume the acting presidency on an interim basis until the President resumes duty, or until the election of a new president by the National Assembly. Vice President
Vo Th? Anh Xuan
served as Acting President of Vietnam twice, in 2023 and 2024.
[a]
Her predecessor,
đ?ng Th? Ng?c Th?nh
, was the first woman in Vietnamese history to assume the (acting) presidency following the death of President
Tr?n đ?i Quang
in 2018.
[3]
General
To Lam
is the incumbent President of Vietnam, serving in this role since 22 May 2024, succeeding former president
Vo V?n Th??ng
, who resigned due to wrongdoings and violations of regulations.
[4]
[5]
History
[
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]
H? Chi Minh
was appointed Vietnam's first president in 1946 by the National Assembly.
[6]
The 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 power and responsibilities of the president in 1946 constitution is very similar to the power and responsibilities of the
president of the United States
with elements from the
president of France
being both the
head of state
and the
head of government
. The 1959 constitution significantly reduced the power of the president, making the president the
de jure
leader of Vietnam while handling most of the
de facto
power to the post of
general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
. 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.
[7]
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
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 H? Chi Minh was ranked as first member of the
Politburo
, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, his successor,
Ton đ?c Th?ng
, was a symbolic figure with little power.
The post of head of state was strengthened in the 1980 Constitution by the appointment of
Tr??ng Chinh
who was, by order of precedence, the second-highest-ranking member in the Politburo, behind
Le Du?n
.
The office of president retained the second highest rank in the Politburo order of precedence until
Nguy?n Minh Tri?t
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
Tr??ng T?n Sang
as the first-ranking member of the Politburo.
[10]
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.
[11]
[12]
Since Tr??ng T?n 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.
[13]
Term of office
[
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]
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
[14]
Duties, powers and responsibilities
[
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]
The president is the head of state of Vietnam, and his main priority is to represent Vietnam internally and externally.
[6]
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.
From the current
Constitution of Vietnam
, the
Vietnamese media
has described the presidency to be relatively similar to the presidents of
Singapore
,
Germany
,
Austria
...which are largely
ceremonial positions
, however, the Vietnamese president still have certain, even though unclear,
executive
,
judicial
and
legislative
powers as designed by the Constitution.
[15]
On the other hands, presidents of Vietnam are regularly one of the top-ranked members of the
Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam
, making them practically among the most influential figures of the
Vietnamese politics
alongside the constitutional powers that they gained from their formal presidency. The former president
Vo V?n Th??ng
was listed as the fourth-ranking figure in the current CPV Politburo, and
Nguy?n Phu Tr?ng
served as the state's president from 2018 to 2021 while being the incumbent
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
, the title for the highest-ranking member in the Politburo as well as in the whole
Communist Party of Vietnam
that he has assumed undisrupted since 2011.
[16]
Succession
[
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]
According to Article 93 of the Constitution of Vietnam (2013):
"When the President is incapacitated from work over a long period of time, the Vice President shall succeed as acting President. In case of vacancy of the Presidency, the Vice President shall serve as acting President until a new President is elected by the National Assembly."
See also
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]
References
[
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Notes
[
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]
- ^
Xuan has assumed the acting presidency twice: the first time between the resignation of
Nguy?n Xuan Phuc
on 18 January 2023 and the election of
Vo V?n Th??ng
on 2 March 2023, and the second time between the resignation of
Vo V?n Th??ng
on 21 March 2024 and the election of
To Lam
on 22 May 2024.
Citations
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]
Works cited
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]