President of Vietnam

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam
Emblem of Vietnam
Incumbent Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (acting) since 21 March 2024
Style	Mr. President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Type	Head of state
Member of	Central Committee of the Communist Party Central Police Party Committee Central Military Commission National Assembly Council for National Defense and Security
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
Inaugural holder	Hồ Chí Minh
Formation	2 September 1945; 78 years ago (1945-09-02)
Deputy	Vice President
Salary	15,730,000₫ monthly[1]
Website	Official website (Vietnamese)

The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, lit. 'Chairman of the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam') is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam from its delegates. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, candidates for the post are nominated by the Central 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 the General 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 the National Assembly. In addition, the President has traditionally been a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and a member of the Politburo. The Central Committee of the Communist Party nominates candidates to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, which then confirms and nominates those candidates for official election by all delegates of the National Assembly.

The President appoints the Vice President, Prime Minister, ministers, and other officials with the consent of the National Assembly. The president is furthermore the nominal supreme Commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and Chairman of the Council for National Defense and Security. Additionally, the President is also a member of the 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 the Communist Party, making him (in that capacity) the first ranking member of the Politburo, 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 Secretary Lê Duẩn. Since Trường 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 President Nguyễn Minh Triết (who ranked fourth) and President Võ Chí Công (who ranked third). Three persons served concurrently as head of both the party and state: Hồ Chí Minh (1951–1969), Trường Chinh (1986) and Nguyễn Phú Trọng (2018–2021).

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 President Võ 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 President Trần Đại Quang in 2018.^[3]

General Tô Lâm is the incumbent President of Vietnam, serving in this role since 20 May 2024, and concurrently serves as Minister of Public Security.^[4]

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