9th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam
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The 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( vi, Đại hội Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam IX) was held in Ba Đình Hall,
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
from 19 to 22 April 2001. The congress occurs once every five years. A total of 1,168 delegates represented the party's 2,479,719 card-carrying members.


Preparations


Dismissals and reassignments

Planning for the 9th National Congress began in August 1999 at the 7th plenum of the 8th Central Committee. Preparatory work for the congress began at the 8th plenum of the 8th Central Committee "by assigning various organizational tasks to senior party officials." After the 8th plenum several officials lost their post because of either disciplinary cases, government reshuffling or reassignment within the party. These changes were implemented because of widespread criticism of the Communist Party of Vietnam's (CPV) tackling of corruption, and in order to strengthen the coherence of national policy and its implementation. A statement issued by the 8th plenum stated that Ngô Xuân Lộc, a
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
, and Cao Sĩ Kiêm, a party official working in the economic sector, had been given disciplinary warnings. In addition, the 8th plenum recommended to dismiss Ngô Xuân Lộc as a Deputy Prime Minister because of implication in the Thanh Long amusement park scandal. Cao Sĩ Kiêm on the other hand was criticised for mismanaging loans that resulted in a sudden increase in bad debts. In December, the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
dismissed Ngô Xuân Lộc as Deputy Prime Ministers on the grounds of him being implicated in the Thanh Long scandal and for neglecting his duties.
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng Nguyễn Tấn Dũng (born 17 November 1949) is a Vietnamese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Vietnam from 2006 to 2016. He was confirmed by the National Assembly on 27 June 2006, having been nominated by his predecessor, Phan Vă ...
, a member of the 8th Politburo who held the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Governor of the
State Bank A state bank is generally a financial institution that is chartered by a federated state, as opposed to one regulated at the federal or national level. State banks differ from a reserve bank in that it does not necessarily control monetary polic ...
, had to relinquish his position as State Bank governor to his deputy Lê Đức Thúy. He was later made First Deputy Prime Minister and became responsible for supervising the works of the three other deputy prime ministers. Late in January 2001, the
Standing Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
of the National Assembly announced that
Nguyễn Mạnh Cầm Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...
had left his position as
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
so as to be able to concentrate on his duties as a deputy prime minister.
Trương Đình Tuyển Trương, or Truong without diacritics, is a Vietnamese surname formerly written as in the Han script. It is derived from the Chinese surname Zhang (), one of the most common surnames in China and Taiwan. According to the 2010 United States Cen ...
, the Minister of Trade, resigned and was succeeded by Vũ Khoan. Similar changes occurred within the party organization – for instance,
Trương Tấn Sang Trương Tấn Sang (born 21 January 1949) is a Vietnamese politician, who served as the seventh President of Vietnam from 2011 to 2016. He was one of Vietnam's top leaders, alongside prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and Party general secret ...
, the Secretary of the
Hồ Chí Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
Party Committee, was reassigned to head the CPV's Central Economic Commission. Similar changes occurred with at least seven other party officials.


Lê Khả Phiêu's downfall

During 2000,
Lê Khả Phiêu Lê Khả Phiêu (27 December 1931 – 7 August 2020) was a Vietnamese politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from December 1997 to April 2001.Gainsborough 2010, p. 143 Lê Khả Phiêu served in the Viet ...
, the General Secretary of the 8th Central Committee, attempted to shore up support within the party for his reelection for a second term as general secretary. The 9th plenum of the 8th Central Committee (10–19 April) discussed draft proposals to strengthen the decision-making process at the top of the party. Three options were up for discussion; introducing direct elections of the
Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...
by the Central Committee, to reestablish the
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
(abolished at the 8th National Congress), and the retention of the Politburo Standing Committee while at the same time reviving the Secretariat. After a visit to France, Lê Khả Phiêu reportedly tried to amend the state constitution and the CPV statutes to as to allow him to serve concurrently as general secretary and state president. His stewardship as general secretary was severely tested by rural unrest, the
Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
, and the continued influence of the Advisors to the Central Committee, most prominently among them being
Đỗ Mười Đỗ Mười (; 2 February 1917 – 1 October 2018) was a Vietnamese communist politician. He rose in the party hierarchy in the late 1940s, became Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1988 and was elected General Secretary of the Central ...
, Lê Khả Phiêu's predecessor as general secretary. Đỗ Mười still retained policy influence during Lê Khả Phiêu's term in office, and while he was no longer a member of the Politburo, he attended the meetings of the 8th Politburo. He was appointed the convenor of the 9th National Congress, a post which gave him considerable influence over congress proceedings. Anyway, Đỗ Mười together with
Võ Văn Kiệt Võ Văn Kiệt (; 23 November 1922 – 11 June 2008"E ...
and
Lê Đức Anh Lê Đức Anh (1 December 1920 – 22 April 2019) was a Vietnamese politician and general who served as the fourth President of Vietnam from 1992 to 1997. He previously led the Vietnamese forces in Cambodia throughout the 1980s. He was regarde ...
sent a joint letter to the 8th Central Committee which criticized Lê Khả Phiêu's leadership. The first session of the 11th plenum of the 8th Central Committee (held in January 2001), issued a statement which said that no one over the age of 65 could be re-elected to the Central Committee, or any other central party position. However, after a hard-led counter-offensive by Lê Khả Phiêu, another statement by the Central Committee was issued which stated that certain exceptions could be made by "key cadres". Lê Khả Phiêu pointed on a wave of demonstrations by ethnic minorities in the Central Highland in February 2001 for a reason to stay in office, so as to assure stability. By the end of the second session of the 11th plenum it looked to outsiders that his position was secure. In a mid-April Politburo meeting, two-thirds of its members voted to retain Lê Khả Phiêu as general secretary, but on 17 April at the 12th plenum the Central Committee overturned the politburo's decision (in itself a very rare event) and voted to oust him from office.


Documents

At the 9th plenum of the 8th Central Committee, attended by the advisors to the Central Committee, discussed the drafting of four documents; the Political Report, the Socioeconomic Strategy for the 2001–2010 Period, the 7th Five-Year Plan (2001–2005), and the Report on the Revision of the Party Statutes.
Nguyễn Phú Trọng Nguyễn Phú Trọng (born 14 April 1944) is a Vietnamese politician who has served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam — the highest political position in Vietnam — since 2011. In addition, Nguyễn Phú Trọng ser ...
, a member of the 8th Politburo and the Secretary of the
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
Party Committee, briefed the 9th plenum on the contentious matter that still needed to be discussed, such as sections of the Political Report and the need for further amendments to the party's statutes. The 10th plenum of the 8th Central Committee (26 June – 4 July), according to an official communique, "laid the ground work for the 9th National Party Congress." In the aftermath of the 10th plenum, the Vietnamese media gave increasing attention to internal party discussions and the then confidential political report, ''Bringing into Full Play the Strength of the Entire Nation, Continuing the Renovation Process, Accelerating Industrialization and Modernization, Building and Defending the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland''. The Political Report signalled no major changes from the political report given to the 8th National Congress. However, there were some minor changes. For instance, previously party documents had stated that the party and state's long term policy was "to develop the commodity-based multi-sector economy operating in accordance with the state-managed, socialist-orientated market mechanism", but the political report to the 9th National Congress condensed this into a single phrase, "to develop a
socialist-oriented market economy The socialist-oriented market economy (Vietnamese: ''Kinh tế thị trường theo định hướng xã hội chủ nghĩa'') is the official title given to the current economic system in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It is described as a ...
." The political report still gave prominence to Hồ Chí Minh Thought, the period of transition to socialism (which can be shortened by "orderly steps and big leaps forward"), the leading role given to the state and cooperatives in the economy, and class struggle. According to the Political Report, "The principal content of class struggle is to successfully pursue the goal of industrialization and modernization along the lines of socialism, to struggle to frustrate all schemes and acts of sabotage by hostile forces, and to build Vietnam into a prosperous socialist country."


Delegates

During the final quarter of 2000, and the beginning of 2001, party congresses were held at grassroots and provincial levels to elect the delegates to the 9th National Congress.


The Congress and the 1st plenum

The 9th National Congress met from 19 to 22 April 2001. The elected Central Committee, the
9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
, was composed of 150-members (the 8th Central Committee had 170 members). Of these, 87 had been members of the 8th Central Committee, the rest, 63 in total, were new members. The 9th Central Committee comprised primarily incumbent officials who held posts in either the
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
or were provincial leaders. Lê Minh Hương, a member of the 9th Politburo and Minister of Public Security, led the five-member security bloc in the Central Committee, while
Lê Hồng Anh Lê Hồng Anh (born November 12, 1949) is a Vietnamese politician who was the Minister of Public Security of Vietnam from 2002 to 2011. He was conferred the rank of General by the President of Vietnam on January 9, 2005. In 2011, Lê Hồng An ...
was a prominent member of the bloc responsible for
internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal secu ...
. A third group, led by Nguyễn Văn An, the head of the Central Organizing and Personnel Commission, led what Carlyle Thayer referred to as the "personnel bloc". The 1st plenum of the 9th Central Committee, held on 22 April, elected the 9th Politburo. The 9th Politburo consisted of 15 members (the 8th Politburo had 19 members). Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and
Nguyễn Minh Triết Nguyễn Minh Triết (born 8 October 1942) is a Vietnamese politician who served as the sixth President of Vietnam from 2006 to 2011. He was elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam with 464 votes (94%) in June 2006. Nguyễn Minh Triết w ...
, both considered reformers by outside observers, rose within the Politburo hierarchy, but so did Lê Minh Hương and Nguyễn Phú Trọng, who are labelled conservatives by outside observers. Lê Hồng Anh, the Chairman of the Central Inspection Commission, was a newcomer to the Politburo and was ranked ninth, "above two incumbent members". Military representation within the Politburo was reduced from four members in the 8th Politburo to one, General
Phạm Văn Trà Phạm Văn Trà (born 19 August 1937) is a Vietnamese politician who served as Vietnam's Minister of Defense from 1997 to 2006. Phạm Văn Trà was previously Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam and Vice-Minister of De ...
, in the 9th Politburo. In contrast, military representation within the Central Committee increased overall from the 8th Central Committee, but with the majority of military members being incumbents. The Politburo Standing Committee and the Advisory Council to the Central Committee were abolished at the congress, and the Secretariat was reestablished. The Secretariat was elected by the 1st plenum of the 9th Central Committee. The abolishment of the Advisory Council effectively ended the behind-the-scenes influence of senior retirees. The congress reaffirmed Vietnam's plans of accelerating industrialization and modernization in order to become a modern-industrialized state by 2020, and adopted the 7th Five-Year Plan and the Socioeconomic Strategy for the 2001–2010. According to Carlyle Thayer, these documents "called for self-reliance, mobilization of domestic capital, the development of Vietnam's comparative advantage, and attracting external resources in the form of foreign investment capital, new technology, and managerial expertise." The Political Report stressed the need to retain good relations with fellow
socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term '' communist state'' is of ...
s and neighboring countries, while at the same time improving relations with the capitalist world. Lê Khả Phiêu stepped down as general secretary at the 1st plenum, and was succeeded by
Nông Đức Mạnh Nông Đức Mạnh (; born 11 September 1940) is a Vietnamese politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the most powerful position in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, from 22 April 2001 to 19 January 2011. ...
. Hu Jintao, the
Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
's (CPC) honorary delegate to the 9th National Congress, was rumored for lobbying on Lê Khả Phiêu's retention as general secretary on China's behalf. After his election to the general secretaryship, Nông Đức Mạnh pledged to Hu Jintao that "the relationship between Vietnam and China will develop better and better in the days to come." Not long after did Nông Đức Mạnh meet personally with CPC General Secretary
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pr ...
.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * {{National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam National Congresses of the Communist Party of Vietnam 2001 in Vietnam