Vietnam's parliament follows protocol to confirm new transport, inspection chiefs

By Hoang Thuy   October 26, 2017 | 12:42 am PT
Vietnam's parliament follows protocol to confirm new transport, inspection chiefs
Vietnam's new Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The (L) and government's chief inspector Le Minh Khai. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Hai
The appointments were a foregone conclusion as the duo had already been chosen by the country’s most powerful political body.

Vietnam officially voted in a new transport minister and chief government inspector on Thursday just a day after the selection of the two nominees was made public.

The personnel changes were all but decided by the Communist Party’s Politburo, the country’s most powerful political body, before the nominees were announced on Wednesday.

With 90 percent of the legislative National Assembly being Party members, it was only a matter of formality for lawmakers to make the appointments official during the ongoing biannual session of the country's legislature.

Nguyen Van The, the Party chief of Soc Trang Province, received 461 out of 466 votes from legislators to be named the new Minister of Transport.

The, 51, earned a PhD in transport in Russia and worked for several transport companies in his hometown Dong Thap Province in southern Vietnam before serving as its vice chairman.

He was vice minister of transport between June 2013 and October 2015 before being transferred to the southern province of Soc Trang.

He fills the transport minister's seat vacated by Truong Quang Nghia, who has taken a new role as Party chief of Da Nang. The central city's top leader was fired earlier this month for serious misconduct.

The's position in Soc Trang has been passed to former chief inspector Phan Van Sau, who also started his political career as a provincial Party leader.

Sau’s successor will be Le Minh Khai, the sitting Party chief of Bac Lieu Province.

Khai, 53, has a background in accounting and auditing and held several government positions in Bac Lieu before being chosen as its Party leader in October 2015. He received 464 votes.

 
 
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