Vietnam appoints three new deputy prime ministers

With these new appointments, the government for the current term is now composed of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and five deputy prime ministers – Nguyen Hoa Binh, Tran Hong Ha, Le Thanh Long, Ho Duc Phoc, and Bui Thanh Son.

The assembly dismissed Tran Luu Quang from his position as deputy PM on Monday, after he was assigned by the Communist Party’s Politburo to take office as Head of the Party’s Central Economic Commission.

Nguyen Hoa Binh, 66, holds a PhD in Law and is a prominent member of the Politburo, the Central Party Committee and the National Assembly. His extensive career includes significant roles in the public security sector, as well as serving as the Party secretary of the central province of Quang Ngai. He became the head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy in August 2011 and was later appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court in April 2016.

Ho Duc Phoc, 61, has a PhD in Economics and is also a member of the Central Party Committee and the National Assembly. He served as the Party secretary of Nghe An Province and chairman of the Nghe An People’s Council from March 2013. He was appointed State Auditor General in 2016 and became minister of finance in April 2021.

Bui Thanh Son, 62, holds a Master’s degree in International Relations. He has been a member of the Central Party Committee, the Defense and Security Council and the National Assembly. Son has held various positions in the diplomatic sector, ultimately being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in April 2021.

Phoc and Son will continue to serve as finance and foreign affairs ministers, while Binh’s position as chief justice has been filled by Le Minh Tri, formerly Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.

The assembly on Monday also appointed Nguyen Hai Ninh, member of the Party Central Committee and Party Secretary of Khanh Hoa Province as Minister of Justice, to succeed Long who was appointed a deputy PM earlier; and Do Duc Duy, member of the Party Central Committee and Party Secretary of Yen Bai Province, as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment to replace Dang Quoc Khanh who was dismissed the same day.