Nguyen Xuan Phuc elected as Vietnam’s new president

HANOI – The National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam on Monday elected Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as the state president.

A resolution on electing Phuc as the new president was adopted with an approval rate of 97.5 percent at the ongoing 11th session of the 14th NA, Vietnam News Agency reported.

In his sworn-in statement, Phuc vowed to be absolutely loyal to the nation, the people and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and to work hard to fulfill the duty assigned by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the state and the people.

This is the first time in history that the NA elected an incumbent prime minister as the state president, according to Vietnam News Agency.

On Friday morning, the NA passed a resolution to relieve Phuc from the prime minister’s post, which will come into force immediately after a new prime minister is elected on Monday afternoon.

Another resolution was adopted on Friday afternoon to relieve former Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong from the president’s post.

Phuc, born on July 20, 1954, joined the CPV in 1982. He was a member of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th CPV Central Committee (CPVCC), a member of the Politburo of the 11th, 12th and 13th CPVCC, and deputy to the 11th, 13th and 14th NA.

According to Vietnamese legal regulations, the working tenure of the president and the prime minister is coincident with that of the NA.