| President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | |
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| Chủ tịch nước Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam | |
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| Style | Mr. President (informal) State President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Type | Head of state |
| Status | Second highest ranking official |
| Member of | |
| Residence | Presidential Palace |
| Nominator | Standing Committee of the National Assembly |
| Appointer | National Assembly |
| Term length | Five years, no term limits |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Vietnam (2014) |
| Inaugural holder | Hồ Chí Minh |
| Formation | 2 September 1945; 79 years ago (1945-09-02) |
| Deputy | Vice President |
| Salary | 30,420,000₫ monthly[1] |
| Website | Official website (Vietnamese) |
Thepresident of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese:Chủ tịch nước Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) is thehead of state ofVietnam, elected by theNational Assembly of Vietnam from its delegates. Since Vietnam is aone-party state, candidates for the post are nominated by theCentral 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 thegeneral 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 theNational Assembly. In addition, the president has traditionally been a member of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party and a member of thePolitburo. TheCentral Committee of the Communist Party nominates candidates to theStanding Committee of the National Assembly, which then confirms and nominates those candidates for officialelection by all delegates of the National Assembly.
The president appoints thevice president,prime minister, ministers, and other officials with the consent of theNational Assembly. The president is furthermore the nominal supremecommander-in-chief of theVietnam People's Armed Forces and chairman of theCouncil for National Defense and Security. Additionally, the president is also a member ofthe 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,Hồ Chí Minh, was also the chairman of theCommunist Party, making him (in that capacity) the first ranking member of thePolitburo, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, his successor,Tôn Đức Thắng, was not a member of the Politburo and served as a symbolic figure under General SecretaryLê Duẩn. SinceTrường 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 PresidentNguyễn Minh Triết (who ranked fourth) and PresidentVõ Chí Công (who ranked third). Four persons served concurrently as head of both the party and state:Hồ Chí Minh (1951–1969),Trường Chinh (1986),Nguyễn Phú Trọng (2018–2021), andTô Lâm (2024).
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 PresidentVõ Thị Ánh Xuân served as acting president of Vietnam twice, in 2023 and 2024.[a] Her predecessor,Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, was the first woman in Vietnamese history to assume the (acting) presidency following the death of PresidentTrần Đại Quang in 2018.[3]
GeneralLương Cường is the incumbent president of Vietnam, serving in this role since 21 October 2024, succeeding General Secretary Tô Lâm.[4]
Hồ Chí Minh was appointed Vietnam's first president in 1946 by the National Assembly.[5] 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 thepresident of the United States with elements from thepresident of France being both thehead of state and thehead of government. The 1959 constitution significantly reduced the power of the president, making the president thede jure leader of Vietnam while handling most of thede facto power to the post ofgeneral secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 1980 constitution transformed the office ofhead of state dramatically. The office of president was abolished and replaced with the office of Chairman of theCouncil of State (CC). The CC chairmanship was modelled after the Soviet office ofChairman of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet. The Council of State, as with theCouncil of Ministers, was acollective 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.[6] The duties, powers and responsibilities of the Council of State were taken from theStanding 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) andcommander-in-chief of theVietnam 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 thePeople'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 thePolitburo, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, his successor,Tôn Đức Thắng, was a symbolic figure with little power.[7] The post of head of state was strengthened in the 1980 Constitution by the appointment ofTrường Chinh who was, by order of precedence, the second-highest-ranking member in the Politburo, behindLê Duẩn.[8] The office of president retained the second highest rank in the Politburo order of precedence untilNguyễn Minh Triết was appointed in 2006; he ranked fourth in the Politburo hierarchy. The Politburo elected in the aftermath of the11th National Party Congress (held in January 2011) by theCentral Committee electedTrương Tấn Sang as the first-ranking member of the Politburo.[9] This was the first time in Vietnamese history where the highest-ranking member of the Politburo does not hold post of eithergeneral secretary or chairman (was in existence from 1951 to 1969) of the party.[10][11] 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 throughcollective decision-making, and policies are only enacted if a majority of Politburo members supports them.[12]
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.[13]
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The president is the head of state of Vietnam, and his main priority is to represent Vietnam internally and externally.[5] The officeholder is elected by theNational 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:
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 acollective 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 currentConstitution of Vietnam, theVietnamese media has described the presidency to be relatively similar to the presidents ofSingapore,Germany,Austria...which are largelyceremonial positions, however, the Vietnamese president still have certain, even though unclear,executive,judicial andlegislative powers as designed by the Constitution.[14] On the other hands, presidents of Vietnam are regularly one of the top-ranked members of thePolitburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, making them practically among the most influential figures of theVietnamese politics alongside the constitutional powers that they gained from their formal presidency. The former presidentVõ Văn Thưởng was listed as the fourth-ranking figure in the current CPV Politburo, andNguyễn Phú Trọng served as the state's president from 2018 to 2021 while being the incumbentGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the title for the highest-ranking member in the Politburo as well as in the wholeCommunist Party of Vietnam that he had held undisrupted since 2011.[15]
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of Office | Political Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
President of theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam (1945–1975) | ||||||
| 1 |  | Hồ Chí Minh[b] (1890–1969) | 2 September 1945 | 2 September 1969 (Died in office) | 24 years | Indochinese |
| — |  | Huỳnh Thúc Kháng (1876–1947) | 29 May 1946 | 21 October 1946 | 145 days | Independent |
| — |  | Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) | 2 September 1969 | 23 September 1969 | 21 days | Worker's Party of Vietnam |
| 2 | 23 September 1969 | 2 July 1976 | 6 years, 283 days | |||
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of Office | Election | Political Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| President of theSocialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||||
| (2) | | Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) | 2 July 1976 | 30 March 1980 (Died in office) | 3 years, 272 days | 1976 | Worker's Party/ |
| — |  | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996) | 30 March 1980 | 4 July 1981 | 1 year, 96 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| Chairman of the Council of State of theSocialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||||
| 3 |  | Trường Chinh (1907–1988) | 4 July 1981 | 18 June 1987 | 5 years, 349 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 4 | Võ Chí Công (1912–2011) | 18 June 1987 | 22 September 1992 | 5 years, 96 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam | |
| President of theSocialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||||
| 5 | Lê Đức Anh (1920–2019) | 23 September 1992 | 24 September 1997 | 5 years, 1 day | 1992 | Communist Party of Vietnam | |
| 6 |  | Trần Đức Lương (1937–2025) | 24 September 1997 | 27 June 2006 (Resigned from office) | 8 years, 276 days | 1997 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 7 |  | Nguyễn Minh Triết (1942–) | 27 June 2006 | 25 July 2011 | 5 years, 28 days | 2006 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 8 |  | Trương Tấn Sang (1949–) | 25 July 2011 | 2 April 2016 | 4 years, 252 days | 2011 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 9 |  | Trần Đại Quang (1956–2018) | 2 April 2016 | 21 September 2018 (Died in office) | 2 years, 172 days | 2016 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — |  | Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (1959–) | 21 September 2018 | 23 October 2018 | 32 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 10 |  | Nguyễn Phú Trọng[c] (1944–2024) | 23 October 2018 | 5 April 2021 | 2 years, 164 days | 2018 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 11 |  | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (1954–) | 5 April 2021 | 18 January 2023 (Resigned from office) | 1 year, 288 days | 2021 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — |  | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (1970–) | 18 January 2023 | 2 March 2023 | 43 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 12 |  | Võ Văn Thưởng (1970–)[16] | 2 March 2023 | 21 March 2024 (Resigned from office) | 1 year, 19 days | 2023 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — |  | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (1970–) | 21 March 2024 | 22 May 2024 | 62 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 13 | .jpg) | Tô Lâm[d] (1957–)[17] | 22 May 2024[18] | 21 October 2024 | 152 days | May 2024 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 14 | | Lương Cường (1957–)[19] | 21 October 2024[20] | Incumbent | 254 days | October 2024 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| Rank | No. | Name | Party | Length of term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hồ Chí Minh | ICP/WPV | 24 years |
| 2 | 2 | Tôn Đức Thắng | WPV/CPV | 10 years, 210 days |
| 3 | 6 | Trần Đức Lương | CPV | 8 years, 276 days |
| 4 | 3 | Trường Chinh | CPV | 5 years, 349 days |
| 5 | 4 | Võ Chí Công | CPV | 5 years, 97 days |
| 6 | 7 | Nguyễn Minh Triết | CPV | 5 years, 28 days |
| 7 | 5 | Lê Đức Anh | CPV | 5 years |
| 8 | 8 | Trương Tấn Sang | CPV | 4 years, 252 days |
| 9 | 9 | Trần Đại Quang | CPV | 2 years, 172 days |
| 10 | 10 | Nguyễn Phú Trọng | CPV | 2 years, 164 days |
| 11 | 11 | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | CPV | 1 year, 288 days |
| 12 | — | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ | CPV | 1 year, 96 days |
| 13 | 12 | Võ Văn Thưởng | CPV | 1 year, 18 days |
| 14 | 16 | Lương Cường | CPV | 254 days |
| 15 | 13 | Tô Lâm | CPV | 152 days |
| 16 | — | Huỳnh Thúc Kháng | None | 145 days |
| 17 | — | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân | CPV | 105 days |
| 18 | — | Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh | CPV | 32 days |
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 act as 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."
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Ronald J. Cima (December 1987). Ronald J. Cima (ed.).Vietnam: A Country Study.Federal Research Division.Constitutional Evolution. Heads of state of Vietnam since 1945 | |
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| Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam; 1945–1976) | |
| State /Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam; 1949–1975) | 
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| Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present) | |
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