Vice President of Vietnam explained

Post:Vice President
Body:the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Insignia:Emblem of Vietnam.svg
Insigniacaption:Emblem of Vietnam
Insigniasize:100px
Incumbent:Võ Thị Ánh Xuân
Incumbentsince:6 April 2021
Style:Madam Vice President

Her Excellency
Seat:Hanoi
Appointer:National Assembly
Nominator:President
Termlength:No term limit
Inaugural:Nguyễn Hải Thần

The vice president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Phó Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam), known as the deputy chairman of the Council of State (Vietnamese: Phó Chủ tịch Hội đồng Nhà nước) from 1981 to 1992, is the deputy head of state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The vice president is appointed on the recommendation of the president to the National Assembly. The president can also recommend the vice president's dismissal and resignation from office.[1] Upon the president's recommendation, the vice president has to be approved by the National Assembly. The main duty of a vice president is to help the president in discharging his duties—in certain cases, the vice president can be empowered by the president to replace him in the discharge of some of his duties.[2] If the president cannot discharge his duties, the vice president becomes acting president[3] (Tôn Đức Thắng, Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh and Võ Thị Ánh Xuân were acting presidents for a short period). In case of vacancy, the vice president will remain acting president until the National Assembly elects a new president.[3]

While the office of vice president was first mentioned in the 1946 constitution,[4] Tôn Đức Thắng became the first vice president of Vietnam in 1960. The 1980 constitution renamed the office of vice president to Deputy Chairman of the Council of State. Unlike the 1946, 1959 and the present constitution, the 1980 constitution did not mention what kind of authority the office of vice president had—for instance, it was not mentioned if a vice president would take the responsibilities of acting head of state if the head of state was incapacitated.[5] In 1992, the name for the post of deputy chairman of the Council of State was reverted to its original name; vice president.[6] South Vietnam, under its 1967 constitution, also had a vice-president.[7] Since 1992, the office of vice president has traditionally been occupied by a woman, with two of them becoming acting president in the last decade.

Vice presidents of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1960–1976)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officePresident
1Nguyễn Hải Thần
(1869–1959)
19451946Hồ Chí Minh
(1945–1969)
2Tôn Đức Thắng
(1888–1980)
196023 September 1969Hồ Chí Minh
(1945–1969)
3Nguyễn Lương Bằng
(1904–1979)
22 September 19692 July 1976Tôn Đức Thắng
(1969–1976)
4Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
(1910–1996)
25 April 19762 July 1976Tôn Đức Thắng
(1976–1980)

Vice presidents of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)

Vice presidents (1976–1981)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officePresident
Nguyễn Lương Bằng
(1904–1979)
2 July 197620 July 1979Tôn Đức Thắng
(1976–1980)
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
(1910–1996)
2 July 19764 July 1981Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
(1980–1981)

Deputy chairmen of the Council of State (1981–1992)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeChairman of Council State
4Nguyễn Hữu Thọ
(1910–1996)
4 July 198119 July 1992Trường Chinh
(1981–1987)
Võ Chí Công
(1987–1992)
5Chu Huy Mân
(1913–2006)
4 July 1981December 1986Trường Chinh
(1981–1987)
6Xuân Thủy
(1912–1985)
4 July 1981July 1982Trường Chinh
(1981–1987)
7Lê Thanh Nghị
(1911–1989)
July 1982December 1986Trường Chinh
(1981–1987)
8Huỳnh Tấn Phát
(1913–1989)
19821989Trường Chinh
(1981–1987)
Võ Chí Công
(1987–1992)
9Nguyễn Quyết
(born 1922)
19 April 198719 July 1992Võ Chí Công
(1987–1992)
10Đàm Quang Trung
(1921–1995)
19 April 198719 July 1992Võ Chí Công
(1987–1992)
11Lê Quang Đạo
(1921–1999)
19 April 198719 July 1992Võ Chí Công
(1987–1992)
12Major General Nguyễn Thị Định
(1920–1992)
19 April 198719 July 1992Võ Chí Công
(1987–1992)

Vice presidents (1992–present)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officePresident
13Nguyễn Thị Bình
(born 1927)
8 October 199212 August 2002Lê Đức Anh
(1992–1997)
Trần Đức Lương
(1997–2006)
14Trương Mỹ Hoa
(born 1945)
12 August 200225 July 2007Trần Đức Lương
(1997–2006)
Nguyễn Minh Triết
(2006–2011)
15Nguyễn Thị Doan
(born 1951)
25 July 20078 April 2016Nguyễn Minh Triết
(2006–2011)
Trương Tấn Sang
(2011–2016)
16Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh
(born 1959)
8 April 20166 April 2021
(acting president
21 September – 23 October 2018)
Trần Đại Quang
(2016–2018)
Nguyễn Phú Trọng
(2018–2021)
17Võ Thị Ánh Xuân
(born 1970)
6 April 2021Incumbent
(acting president
18 January 2023 – 2 March 2023
21 March 2024 – 22 May 2024)
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
(2021–2023)
Võ Văn Thưởng
(2023–2024)

Notes and References

  1. Book: Article 103 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . .
  2. Book: Article 107 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . .
  3. Book: Article 108 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . .
  4. Book: Article 44 of the 1946 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . .
  5. Book: Articles 104–112 of the 1980 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . .
  6. Book: Articles 101–108 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam . .
  7. Web site: Central Government: The Constitution . PDF . April 1, 1967 . 2023-03-30.