The man behind Vietnam’s successfulhandling of the coronavirus pandemic, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, was formally sworn inas president in Hanoi on Monday, reports AFP.
Phuc, 66, was Vietnam’s prime minister for the last five years, a periodin which the economy boomed, and his government’s Covid-19 response wonplaudits at home and abroad.
Following secret voting on Monday, Phuc scored the maximum votes among thealmost 500-member rubber-stamp national assembly.
“This is his well-deserved award,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a Vietnamesepolitics expert from New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington.
Authoritarian Vietnam is run by the Communist Party and officially led bythe party general secretary, president, and prime minister, with keydecisions made by the 18-member politburo.
Vietnam is in the midst of its twice-a-decade leadership transition, with76-year-old Nguyen Phu Trong re-elected in January as party generalsecretary, the most important of the three roles.
Phuc was the only candidate nominated for president, as Trong — who hadheld the presidency since 2018 after the sudden death of his predecessor —stepped down.
The National Assembly said earlier this was “the first time ever a primeminister was nominated to the position of the president”.
After his swearing in, Phuc told the nation he was “lucky and honoured” tobe given the position, which is now only second to Trong in the powerescalator. Politburo leaders are usually expected to retire at 65, but Vietnam hasbent the age rules for both of them.
Although the presidency is largely a ceremonial role, “Mr Phuc will now bethe second-ranked member in the party which makes a strong case for him toclaim the general secretary post if Mr Trong has to step down earlier thanexpected,” Giang told AFP.
Rumours have swirled in recent years about Trong’s health after he took amonth-long absence in 2019.
According to Giang, Phuc’s experience of “well managing Vietnam’srelationship with the US under the turbulent administration of Donald Trump”
will stand him in good stead for his foreign affairs responsibilities aspresident. Phuc will later Monday designate a successor for the prime ministerialrole. Sources said the position will be given to Pham Minh Chinh, 62, a formerdeputy minister of public security.