Phan Văn Giang (; born October 1960) is a Vietnamese General, politician and Vietnam's Minister of National Defence. He joined the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( Vietnamese: ''Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam''), commonly the Party Central Committee (PCC; - or ), is the highest organ between two national congresses ...

in 2016.

Early life and career

Phan Văn Giang was born in October 14, 1960 in Hồng Quang Commune, Nam Trực district,

Nam Định province Nam, Nam, or The Nam are shortened terms for: * Vietnam, which is also spelled ''Viet Nam'' * The Vietnam War Nam, The Nam or NAM may also refer to: Arts and media * Nam, a fictional character in anime series ''Dragon Ball'' * ''NAM'' (video ...

but his hometown is from Thai Nguyen province. Giang began his military career in August 1978, initially serving as an information soldier in Battalion 4, Regiment 677, Division 346. His skills were put to the test during the border conflict in February 1979, where he fought at high point 893 Pát village, Cao Chương commune, Trà Lĩnh District, Cao Bằng Province. In November 1979, he was selected to study at the Tank and Armor Officer University to specialize in tank and armor command. He was admitted to the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North Vietnam in 1954 and then all of Vietnam after the col ...

in December 1982. Graduating with a Bachelor's degree in tank and armored command and staff from the Tank and Armor Officer University in September 1983, Giang was promptly promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to Division 312, Army Corps 1. Over the years, he assumed various leadership roles within the division, including Platoon Leader and Deputy Commander, while also pursuing advanced training at the National Defense Academy, where he earned a doctorate in military science.

High posts

His rise through the ranks continued with appointments such as Deputy Chief of Staff, Division Commander, and Secretary of the Party Committee. Notably, he was promoted to Major General in August 2010 and later to Lieutenant General in September 2013. Giang's leadership was further recognized when he was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam in January 2016. Subsequently, he assumed roles such as Deputy Minister of National Defense and Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. In April 2021, he was appointed Minister of National Defense. Beyond his military and political roles, Giang has also been involved in national committees, including leadership positions in COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.

Commands

* Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of The 312th Division, The 1st Corps (Vietnam People's Army) (2000–03) * Commander of the 312th Division, The 1st Corps (Vietnam People's Army) (2003–08) * Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of The 1st Corps (Vietnam People's Army) (2008–10) * Commander of the 1st Corps (Vietnam People's Army) (2010–11) * Deputy Chief of

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

(2011–14) *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of 1st Military Region (Vietnam People's Army) (2014–16) *

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

(2016–21)

Honours

Rank

Phan Văn Giang was promoted to Major General ( Thiếu Tướng) in 2009, Lieutenant General ( Trung Tướng) in 2013, Colonel General ( Thượng Tướng) in 2017, and Army General in 2021.

Medals

National

*40 years of Party membership badge

Foreign

KHM_Royal_Order_of_Sahametrei_-_Grand_Officer

Grand Officer of the Royal Order of Sahametrei (Cambodia, 2021) * Order of Playa Girón (Cuba, 2022) * First, Second and Third Class Medals of Freedom (Laos) * Orden_of_Friendship

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

(Russia, 2021)

References

1960 births Generals of the People's Army of Vietnam Living people People from Nam Định province People from Thái Nguyên province Members of the 13th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Vietnamese military personnel of the Sino-Vietnamese War {{Vietnam-bio-stub