Vo Van Thuong elected Vietnam's president

With 487 out of 488 deputies voting for Thuong, the National Assembly passed a resolution to name him president for the 2021-2026 term.

He took the oath at a ceremony that started at 10 a.m. at the National Assembly Building in Hanoi, pledging to "stay completely loyal to the country, the people, and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and make efforts to well fulfill missions assigned by the Communist Party, the State and the people."

Vo Van Thuong takes the oath as Vietnam's new president, Hanoi, March 2, 2023. Photo by Pham Thang

Vietnam's state president is the country's top representative in both internal and external affairs, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Thuong, 53, is currently the youngest member of the Party's Politburo, the country's highest decision-making body, and also the youngest standing member of the Party's Secretariat since 1976.

Born in the southern province of Vinh Long, Thuong holds a master’s degree in philosophy.

He served as the Party Secretary of HCMC’s District 12 for two years starting in 2004.

In 2006, he was appointed by the Politburo to be the Standing Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

In August 2011, he became Party Secretary of the central province of Quang Ngai. Three years later, he took the position of Ho Chi Minh City's Deputy Party Secretary. He was reelected to the position in October 2015.

He joined the Politburo in January 2016, becoming its youngest member, and was then assigned the position of Head of the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party.

Vo Van Thuong (L) waits in line as Communist Party's General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong casts his vote for the president position at the National Assembly's extraordinary meeting in Hanoi, March 2, 2023. Photo by Hoang Phong

Thuong became president weeks after his predecessor Nguyen Xuan Phuc stepped down.

On January 17, the Central Party Committee agreed to let Phuc stop serving as a member of the Politburo and the committee, Vietnam's president and chairman of the Council for National Defense and Security of the 2021-2026 term, upon his resignation request.

A day later, the National Assembly dismissed Phuc from his positions, per his request, and appointed then Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan as the interim president.

Phuc, 69, left his president seat after nearly two years.