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 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 r ...

on 27 June 2006, having been nominated by his predecessor,

Phan Văn Khải Phan Văn Khải (; 25 December 1933 – 17 March 2018) was a Vietnamese politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam from 25 September 1997 to 27 June 2006. Life and career Phan Văn Khải was born on 25 December 1933 in Tan ...

, who retired from office. At a party congress held in January 2011, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was ranked 3rd in the hierarchy of the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), 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 No ...

, after

State President The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...

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 ...

.Nguyen Phu Trong elected Party Chief
, ''Vietnam+'', 19 January 2011.
Nguyen Phu Trong elected Party General Secretary
", ''Nhan Dan'', 19 January 2011. Following the

12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam The 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( vi, Đại hội đại biểu toàn quốc lần thứ XII, links=no, 12th National Congress of Delegates) was the twelfth party congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam that was he ...

, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was not able to maintain his post in the party and stepped down from his position as Prime Minister on 7 April 2016.

Early life

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was born on 17 November 1949 in

Cà Mau Cà Mau () is a city in southern Vietnam. It is the capital of Cà Mau Province, a province in the Mekong Delta region, in the southernmost part of Vietnam's inland territory. The city is characterised by its system of transport canals, and m ...

in southern Vietnam. He purportedly volunteered on his 12th birthday to join the

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

, doing first-aid, and communication tasks; he also worked as a nurse, and a physician. He was wounded four times during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and was later ranked as a level 2/4 wounded veteran. As a Senior Lieutenant he was Chief Political Commissar of Infantry Battalion 207; as a Captain, he was Political Chief of Infantry Regiment 152, defending the southwestern border. As Major, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng headed the Personnel Board of Kien Giang Province's Military Command. He attended the high-level Nguyen Ai Quoc Party School. He was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam on 10 June 1967.

Military career

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng reportedly joined the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wi ...

in 1961, serving until 1984. He fought in the south and in the west during the

. He cited his desire for "national independence" as his reasons for fighting on the battlefield. During this time, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng served in the

Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War ( km, សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាម, vi, Chiến tranh Campuchia–Việt Nam), known in Vietnam as the Counter-offensive on the Southwestern border ( vi, Chiến dịch Phản ...

, which resulted in the

Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia supported by Vietnam which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was founded in Cambodia by the Kam ...

. During his service, he was wounded four times.

Police career

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was appointed Deputy Minister of Public Security with the rank of Police Major General in January 1995, serving until 1996.

Political career

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was admitted to the

on 10 June 1967. He was a protégé of conservative Lê Đức Anh and reformist Võ Văn Kiệt, leaders from both major factions in the party, which enabled him to become the youngest member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

in 1996. Nguyễn Tấn Dũng previously served as permanent deputy prime minister (first deputy prime minister) from 1997–2006. He was also the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam between 1998 and 1999. From October 1981 onwards, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam and was active in political affairs and activities of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the following positions: Kiên Giang Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Chief of Staff Committee Provincial Party Committee; Member of Standing Committee of Kiên Giang Party Committee, Secretary of

Hà Tiên Hà Tiên is a Provincial city in Kiên Giang Province, Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Its area is and the population as of 2019 is 81,576. The city borders Cambodia to the west. Hà Tiên is a tourist site of the region thanks to its beaches and la ...

District Party Committee; Standing Deputy Secretary and Secretary of Provincial Party Committee; Chairman of the People's Committees; Party Secretary of Kiên Giang Province Military Party Committee; Member of Party Committee of Military Region 9; Representative of the People's Council of Kiên Giang Province

Prime Minister (2006-2016)

First term

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng is the first senior Vietnamese communist leader born after the August Revolution in 1945 and the youngest Vietnamese prime minister (57 years old when he assumed the office). He is also a native southerner and remained in the southern region throughout the

(he was onrom government control of the media to personal career tips. One youth asked how he could be Prime Minister someday, to which Nguyễn Tấn Dũng replied: "Throughout my time following the Party and the Revolution, I always obeyed the assignments of the organization." It was reported that Vietnam's post-war generation "is increasingly wired, as the Communist Party attempts to foster economic growth and high-tech skills". The government blocks politically oriented sites. There has also been talk of censoring blogs; it was noted that there is a fake Nguyễn Tấn Dũng blog on which the language "mimics official jargon, but is subtly peppered with anti-communist barbs".

Second term

On 26 July 2011, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was officially re-elected prime minister by the 13th National Assembly, winning 470 out of 500 votes. He lost out to Trương Tấn Sang in the competition to lead the party's Politburo, or executive committee. In October 2011, it was reported that political dissidents in Vietnam were "facing a growing crackdown on their activities ... nce the Communist party congress in January, the authorities have steadily ratcheted up the pressure on dissidents". Since 30 July, 15 religious activists had been imprisoned. One lawyer with deep family connections to the Communist party was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment "to the shock and outrage of large sections of the Vietnamese public". A Human Rights Watch report also detailed forced labour and torture throughout the country's drug rehabilitation centres. Australian Vietnam expert Carlyle Thayer said ''"Nguyễn Tấn Dũng ... is decidedly not a reformer."'' Although the U.S. and India are developing closer ties to Vietnam, neither "has seen fit to pressure Vietnam on its rights record with any conviction or consistency". In August 2012, the arrest of

Nguyễn Đức Kiên Nguyễn Đức Kiên (born 1964) is a Vietnamese businessman and owner and chairman of the Hanoi ACB football club. In addition he is deputy chairman of the Vietnam Professional Football company (VPF) that now oversees Vietnam’s V-League and F ...

, a local tycoon thought to be close to Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, sparked discussions about Nguyễn Tấn Dũng's ongoing political battle with President

. Following these discussions, much of the anger about nepotism and poor economic management has been directed at Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. At

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

meeting in October 2012, general secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the head of the Communist Party announced Politburo agreed to propose the committee impose a form of discipline on it and consider discipline on a Politburo member (thought to beNguyễn Tấn Dũng), but the Central Committee decided to not take any discipline on the Politburo and one of its members – from the prime minister's mistakes in economic management issues, anti-corruption ... Dũng has been 'near-alleged' of "large-scale corruption" surrounding himself and his family. Earlier the Central Committee decided to take the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption away from Nguyễn Tấn Dũng's control, and the committee is now controlled by the Politburo and the general secretary is chief of committee. On 14 November 2012 Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was told by a National Assembly member, Dương Trung Quốc, to resign for his mistakes in handling the economy. He said that it was time for the prime minister to take responsibility, not just apologise. The attack was unusual because it was made in front of TV cameras in parliament.

Foreign relations

In 2009, Dũng made a two-day visit to Russia, where he signed a multibillion-dollar arms deal. In 2010, one deputy called for a no confidence motion against Dũng in response to a major management and financial scandal at the state owned

Vinashin , former_name = , type = State-owned enterprise , industry = Shipbuilding, Defence , predecessor = Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group , founded = , founder = , defunct = , hq_location_city = Badinh, Hanoi , hq_location_country = V ...

shipbuilding group. At a party congress in January 2011, he was nominated for another term as prime minister. On 12 April 2010, Dũng attended a luncheon with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and other world leaders at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. On the same date he met Obama at the World Security Summit where he "spoke glowingly to American business leaders of Vietnam's economic growth – 7.2% per year over the last decade – and endorsed Obama's concerns about nuclear safety". In April 2012, Dũng met with Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Okada Katsuya. He expressed his approval with the growing level of cooperation between Vietnam and Japan and they discussed moving forward. They talked about ways accelerate visitation and simplifying both entry procedures and exchange programs. Dũng stated that Vietnam wants to cooperate further and learn from Japan's experience in social insurance and continue to increase Japanese official development assistance. One of his most remarkable moments was his visit to the Vatican to meet with the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, the first time any Vietnamese leader had done so since at least 1975 when Vietnam severed diplomatic ties with the Vatican following the Nation's reunification at the end of the

Personal life

Nguyễn Tấn Dũng is married to Trần Thanh Kiệm and has three children: * Nguyễn Thanh Nghị (born 1976) is a

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

alumnus. Nghị is currently the Minister of Construction. * Nguyễn Thanh Phượng (born 1981) is the founder and Chairwoman of VietCapital Securities and VietCapital Asset Management. Phượng is married to Nguyễn Bảo Hoàng, who held American citizenship. Hoàng is the head of IDG Ventures, a leading tech, retail and media angel fund in Vietnam. He is also the Chairman of the Vietnam Basketball Association, the owner of

Saigon Heat The Saigon Heat is a Vietnamese professional basketball team based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since the 2014 season, the Heat's home games are played at the CIS Arena on the campus of the Canadian International School in District 7. Sai ...

and of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

franchises in Vietnam. *Nguyễn Minh Triết is an officer of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. He previously studied aeronautical engineering at

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

Awards

* Peace, Security and Development Award, December 2015 * Feat Order 3rd class

References

External links