Nguyễn Phú Trọng


Nguyễn Phú Trọng is a Vietnamese politician who is the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, de facto top leader of Vietnam, in office since 19 January 2011, and President of Vietnam, de jure head of state of Vietnam, in office since 23 October 2018. He was Chairman of the National Assembly from 2006 to 2011, representing Hanoi, was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the party's 11th National Congress in 2011 and reelected at the 12th National Congress in 2016.
As General Secretary, Trọng heads the party's Secretariat and is the Secretary of the Central Military Commission in addition to being the de facto head of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, which currently makes him the most powerful person in Vietnam.
In 3 October 2018, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam formally nominated Trọng to be the next President of Vietnam to be voted on the next session of the National Assembly where the party holds an overwhelming majority, making him the third person to simultaneously head the party and the state after Ho Chi Minh and Trường Chinh. On 23 October 2018, he was elected as the 9th President of Vietnam in a meeting of the sixth session of the National Assembly.

Early life and career

Dr. Nguyễn Phú Trọng was born in Đông Hội Commune, Đông Anh District, Hanoi. His official biography gives his family background only as "average peasant". He studied philology and earned a Ph.D. in philosophy at Vietnam National University, Hanoi from 1963 to 1968 and received a Ph.D. in Law Degree in University of Ho Chi Minh and also received a Master in Diplomat at Ho Chi Minh University. Dr. Trọng officially became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1968. He worked for the Tạp chí Cộng Sản, the theoretical and political agency of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the periods of 1968–1973, 1976–1981 and 1983–1996. From 1991 to 1996, he served as the editor-in-chief of the Tạp chí Cộng Sản.
Dr. Trọng went to the Soviet Union in 1981 to study at the Academy of Sciences and received a Candidate of Sciences degree in history in 1983. In 1998, Trọng entered the party section devoted to political work, making him one of the most prominent Vietnamese political theoreticians, heading the party Central Committee's Theoretical Council in charge of the party's theoretical work from 2001 to 2006.
Dr. Trong is a Marxist theoretician, and has long railed against some party members' loss of "Marxist-Leninist virtue".
Dr. Trọng has been member of the party's Central Committee since January 1994, member of the party's Political Bureau since December 1997 and deputy to the National Assembly since May 2002. From January 2000 to June 2006, Trọng was secretary of the party's Executive Committee of Hanoi, the de facto head of the city authority. On 26 June 2006, Trọng was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly. During this period, he was elected secretary of the party organization in the National Assembly and member of the Council for Defence and Security. On 23 October 2018, Trọng was elected as the 9th President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in a seasonal meeting of National Assembly.
In 14 April 2019, it was reported that Trọng had been rushed to the Chợ Rẫy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after visiting Kiên Giang, according to overseas news sources. Rumors and allegations arose from Vietnamese media during this time period. The Vietnamese government initially had no comment on the subject matter, but later confirmed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam that he was "unwell, but will soon return to work". He reappeared in 14 May 2019 to discuss about the upcoming Party Congress.

Leader of Vietnam

First term as General Secretary

Trọng was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2011. The 5th plenum of the 11th Central Committee decided to take the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption away from the Prime Minister’s control and Trọng was elected its head.
On 6 July 2015, General Secretary Trọng arrived in the United States to begin his United States visit to 10 July 2015. This is the first time a leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam has held office in the United States Department of State, but has not held any official post in the Oval Office. This visit coincided with the milestone of twenty years since the United States and Vietnam normalized diplomatic relations. The talks with President Barack Obama was about human rights, security and defense and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Reelection as General Secretary

On 27 January 2016, Trọng was re-elected as General Secretary of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the first conference of the committee. At 72 years old, he was the 12th Committee's oldest member. For this term, Trong is ranked number one in the Politburo, marking a return to normality.
Trọng hopes, under a one-party rule, to strengthen Vietnam's position in the world, turning it into an industrial country rather than a country that produces on primary products. "A country without discipline would be chaotic and unstable . e need to balance democracy and law and order", he said at the close of a meeting to choose the country’s leadership for the next five years. "I very much hope the new faces in the politburo will push with reforms and bring the country forward, but I don't know whether they can do that", said Tran Thi Tram. "They will also have to really tackle the corruption problem, otherwise the people would be the ones to suffer most".

Presidential nomination

On 3 October 2018, Trọng was chosen by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam with 100% support to become the party nominee for the position of the President of Vietnam, becoming the official successor of Trần Đại Quang.

Presidency

The National Assembly elected Trọng as state president on 23 October 2018 with 99.79% percent of the vote. His swearing-in ceremony took place at the Grand Hall and was broadcast live on the afternoon on state radio and television systems.

Personal life

Nguyen Phu Trong is married to Ngo Thi Man. He has a son and a daughter.

Published works

Books