The politics of Vietnam is dominated by a

single party A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, 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 ...

(CPV). The President of Vietnam is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

, and the Prime Minister of Vietnam is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

, both of these are separate from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam who leads the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

and is head 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 ...

and the Central Military Commission, thus the General Secretary is the ''de facto'' supreme leader of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. Executive power is exercised by the government and the President of Vietnam. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly of Vietnam ( vi, Quốc hội Việt Nam). The

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is independent of the executive. The parliament adopted the current

Constitution of Vietnam The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Hiến pháp nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) is the current constitution of Vietnam, adopted on 28 November 2013 by the Thirteenth National Assembly, and took eff ...

, its fifth, on 28 November 2013. The Vietnamese political system is

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...

, with the

freedom of assembly Freedom of peaceful assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ide ...

, association, expression, press and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

as well as civil society activism being tightly restricted. There are no freely elected national leaders, political opposition is suppressed, all religious activity is controlled by the CPV, and dissent is not permitted and civil rights are curtailed.

Elections in Vietnam Elections in Vietnam occur under a single-party political system of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP). Vietnam is one of the last modern single-party authoritarian regimes, also known as a party-state, that does not hold direct elections at a ...

occur under a single-party authoritarian political system. Vietnam is among the few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold any direct elections at the national level. The competitive nature of the elections is highly constrained by the Communist Party's monopoly on power in Vietnam, limitations on free speech, and government interference with the elections. The National Assembly is a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

legislative body. The National Assembly has 500 members, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The legislature is, according to the constitution, the highest organ of the state. Its powers includes the enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; the adoption of the

government budget A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated government revenues, tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed government expenditu ...

; supervising the Government of Vietnam and other holders of public powers responsible to the National Assembly; and appointing members of the judiciary. The Vietnamese constitution and legislation provide for regular elections for the office of the President of the Socialist Republic, the National Assembly and the People's Councils. The President () is elected by National Assembly for a five-year term and acts as the ''de jure'' commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and Chairman of the Council for Defence and Security. However, the president has the right to decide on executive brands. The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

(), the main executive state power of Vietnam, is headed by the Prime Minister, who has several Deputy Prime Ministers and several ministers in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for the implementation of political, economic, cultural, social, national defence, security and external activities of the state. Vietnam has a judicial system governed by the Constitution of Vietnam and national legislation enacted by National Assembly. The Supreme People's Court () is the highest court of appeal in Vietnam. There are other specialised courts in Vietnam, including the Central Military Court, the Criminal Court, the Civil Court and the Appeal Court. The Supreme People's Procuracy observes the implementation of state organs and makes sure that Vietnamese citizens follow the law. Political Structure in Vietnam

Legal framework

Vietnam is a one-party socialist republic. The current Vietnamese state traces its direct lineage back to the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

(North Vietnam) and the 1945 August Revolution led by Hồ Chí Minh. The current constitution was adopted on 28 November 2013 by the National Assembly of Vietnam. There have been four other constitutions in Vietnamese history: the 1946, 1959, 1980, and 1992 constitutions. The

, the leading non-State organ, operates in accordance with the laws. Government powers in Vietnam are divided into legislative, executive and judiciary powers. Vietnam's

legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

is based upon

socialist legality Socialist law or Soviet law denotes a general type of legal system which has been (and continues to be) used in socialist and formerly socialist states. It is based on the civil law system, with major modifications and additions from Marxis ...

according to Article 12 of the constitution.

State ideology

Vietnam is a socialist republic with a one-party system led by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The CPV espouses

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and vario ...

and Hồ Chí Minh Thought, the political philosophy and ideology of the late Hồ Chí Minh. The two ideologies function as a firm ideological basis and serve as guidance for the activities of the Party and state. According to the Constitution, Vietnam is "in the period of transition to socialism". Marxism–Leninism was introduced to Vietnam in the 1920s and 1930s, and

Vietnamese culture The culture of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Văn hoá Việt Nam) is highly multicultural. The early culture in Vietnam started with the Bronze Age Đông Sơn culture considered to be one of its most important progenitors for its Ancient history. Vie ...

has been led under the banner of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

and Marxism–Leninism. Hồ Chí Minh's beliefs were not systematised during his life, nor quickly following his death. Trường Chinh's biography of "Chairman Hồ" in 1973 emphasised his revolutionary policies. The thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh were systematised in 1989, under the leadership of Nguyễn Văn Linh. Hồ Chí Minh Thought, alongside Marxism–Leninism, became the official ideology of the CPV and the state in 1991. The CPV's claim to legitimacy was retained following the

collapse of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in 1989 and the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991 by its commitment to the thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh, according to Sophie Quinn-Judge. According to Pierre Brocheux, the author of ''Ho Chi Minh: a Biography'', the current state ideology is Hồ Chí Minh Thought, with Marxism–Leninism playing a secondary role. While some claim that Hồ Chí Minh Thought is used as a veil for the Party leadership since they, according to this version, have stopped believing in

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

, others claim this is not true considering that Hồ Chí Minh was an avid supporter of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Others see Hồ Chí Minh Thought as a political umbrella term whose main function is to smuggle in non-socialist ideas and policies without challenging socialist legality. Since its foundation, the key ideology has been Marxism–Leninism, but since the introduction of a mixed economy in the late 1980s and 1990s, it has lost its monopolistic ideological and moral legitimacy. As became clear because of the

Đổi Mới (, ; ) is the name given to the economic reforms initiated in Vietnam in 1986 with the goal of creating a "socialist-oriented market economy". The term itself is a general term with wide use in the Vietnamese language meaning "innovate" or " ...

reforms, the Party could not base its rule on defending only the workers and the peasants, which was officially referred to as the "working class-peasant alliance". In the constitution introduced in 1992, the State represented the "workers, peasants and intellectuals". In recent years, the Party has stopped representing a specific class, but instead the "interests of the entire people", which includes entrepreneurs. The final class barrier was removed in 2002, when party members were allowed to engage in private activities. In the face of de-emphasising the role of Marxism–Leninism, the Party has acquired a broader ideology, placing more emphasis on

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

, developmentalism, and becoming the protector of tradition.

Communist Party of Vietnam

According to the official version, the Communist Party of Vietnam ( vi, Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam) is leading the Vietnamese people "in carrying out the country's renovation, modernisation and industrialisation." According to the Party's statute, amended at the 9th National Congress on 22 April 2001, the CPV was "established and trained by President Hồ Chí Minh, has led the Vietnamese people to carry out successfully the August Revolution, establishing the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam, now the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam, to defeat foreign invaders, to abolish the colonial and feudalist regime, to liberate and reunify the country, and then carry out the cause of renovation and socialist construction and firmly defend national independence." It believes in socialist internationalism of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

, and supports the "struggle for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress of the world's people." The CPV acts as the vanguard of the working people and the whole nation by representing their interests. Its aim is to create "a strong, independent, prosperous and democratic country with an equitable and civilized society, to realise

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

and ultimately, communism." The Party's ideological foundation is Marxism–Leninism and Hồ Chí Minh Thoughts. These ideologies guide the activities of the Party, while promoting "the nation's traditions, and absorbing other nations' essential ideas." The CPV is organised on the principles of

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is a practice in which political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party. It is mainly associated with Leninism, wherein the party's political vanguard of professional revo ...

. It practices "criticism, self-criticism, and strict discipline" and pursues " collective leadership and individual responsibility, and promoting comradeship and solidarity in line with the Party's political programs and statutes." The CPV is subject to Vietnamese laws and the Constitution. It is the country's ruling party and promotes the " mastery of the people over the country". The Party is under the supervision of the people. It is dependent on having the people contribute to the party, by strengthening, uniting, and leading the people in the revolutionary cause. The political system in Vietnam is led by the CPV, and it "leads, respects and promotes the role of the State, the Vietnamese Fatherland Front (VFF) and other socio-political organisations."

Congress

The National Congress is the party's highest organ. The direction of the Party and the Government is decided at the National Congress, held every fifth year. The Central Committee is elected by the National Congress. Delegates vote on policies and candidate posts within the central party leadership. Following ratification of the decisions taken at the National Congress, the National Congress dissolves itself. The Central Committee, which is elected by the National Congress every fifth year, implements the decisions of the National Congress in the five-year period. Since the Central Committee only meets twice a year, the Politburo implements the policies of the National Congress.

Central Committee

The Central Committee (CC) is the CPV's most powerful institution. It delegates some of its powers to the Secretariat and the

when it is not in session. When 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 ...

ended in 1975, the Vietnamese leadership, led by Lê Duẩn, began to centralise power. This policy continued until the 6th National Congress, when Nguyễn Văn Linh took power. Linh pursued a policy of economic and political decentralisation. The party and state bureaucracy opposed Linh's reform initiatives; because of this, Linh tried to win the support of provincial leaders. This caused the powers of the provincial chapters of the CPV to increase in the 1990s. The CPV lost its power to appoint or dismiss provincial-level officials in the 1990s; this is proven by the fact that Võ Văn Kiệt tried to wrestle this power back to the centre during the 1990s without success. These developments led to the provincialisation of the Central Committee; for example, more and more CC members have a background in provincial party work. Because of these changes, power in Vietnam has become increasingly devolved. The number of Central Committee members with a provincial background increased from a low of 15.6 percent in 1982 to a high of 41 percent in 2000. The former President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

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 ...

(2011–2016) was directly elected from the provinces at the 8th Party Congress, held in 1996. Because of the devolution of power, the powers of the Central Committee have increased substantially; for instance, when a two-thirds majority of the Politburo voted in favour of retaining

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 Vietn ...

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

(the leader of Vietnam), the Central Committee voted against the Politburo's motion and voted unanimously in favour of removing Lê Khả Phiêu from his post of General Secretary. The Central Committee did this because the majority of its members were of provincial background, or were working in the provinces; because of this, these members were the first to feel the pinch when the economy began to stagnate during Lê Khả Phiêu's rule. The Central Committee elects the Politburo in the aftermath of the Party Congress. Since the full Central Committee meets only once a year, the Politburo functions as the Party's leading collective decision-making body. The Secretariat is also elected by the Central Committee, and is headed by the

( vi, Tổng Bí thư Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam). It is responsible for solving organisational problems and implementing the demands of the Central Committee. The Secretariat oversees the work of the Commissions of the Central Committee. The General Secretary is the de facto leader of Vietnam. ,

of the

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 ...

, rowspan="2", Nguyễn Phú Trọng ,

, rowspan="2", 19 January 2011 , - , Secretary of the Central Military Commission , Communist Party , - , Secretary of the Central Public Security Commission ,

Tô Lâm Tô Lâm (born 10 July 1957) is a Vietnamese politician, who has been Minister of Public Security of Vietnam since 9 April 2016. Tô Lâm is a member of the 12th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and considered to be one of the more ...

, Communist party , May 2016 , - ,

Executive Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the Secretariat ,

Võ Văn Thưởng Võ Văn Thưởng (born 13 December 1970) is a Vietnamese politician. He is currently a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, a standing member of the Secretariat of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietn ...

, Communist Party , 2021 , - , Head of the Central Commission of Organization , Trương Thị Mai , Communist Party , 5 April 2021 , - , Chairman of the Central Commission for Inspection , Trần Cẩm Tú , Communist Party , 9 May 2018 , - , Head of the Central Commission of Propaganda , Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council , Nguyễn Xuân Thắng , Communist Party , 28 March 2011 , - , Head of the Central Commission of Popularization , Bùi Thị Minh Hoài , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Head of the Central Office , Lê Minh Hưng , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Head of the Central Commission of External Affairs , Lê Hoài Trung , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Head of the Central Commission of Economy ,

Trần Tuấn Anh Trần Tuấn Anh (born 6 April 1964 in Hanoi) is a Vietnamese politician. His family is originally from Đức Phổ District, Quảng Ngãi Province. He was the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and a member of the National Assembly ...

, Communist Party , 2021 , - , Head of the Central Commission of Internal Affairs , Phan Đình Trạc , Communist Party , 26 February 2016 (Acting Head since 2015) The following is the official order of precedence of the Politburo according to the 13th National Party Congress. # Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Party General Secretary # Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, State President # Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister #

Vương Đình Huệ Vương Đình Huệ (born 15 March 1957) is a Vietnamese politician and Professor in Economics. He is currently the Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. He was previously Minister of Finance a ...

, Chairman of the National Assembly #

, Head of the PCC’s Commission of Economics # Nguyễn Hoà Bình, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court # Lương Cường, General, Chairman of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army #

Đinh Tiến Dũng Dinh is a Vietnamese surname. In Vietnam, the surname is spelled Đinh or Đình but ''Đình'' is very rare in Vietnamese. Notable people * Andy Dinh, Team SoloMid owner, player * Dan Dinh, ''League of Legends '' player, brother of Andy Dinh * Đ ...

, Secretary of Ha Noi Municipal Party Committee # Phan Văn Giang, Minister of National Defence #

, Minister of Public Security # Trương Thị Mai, Head of the Party's Central Committee's Commission of Organisational Affairs # Trần Thanh Mẫn, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly #

Phạm Bình Minh Phạm Bình Minh (born 26 March 1959) is a Vietnamese politician who is currently a Deputy Prime Minister since 2013. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 2011 to 2021. Phạm is also a member of ...

, Deputy Prime Minister #

Nguyễn Văn Nên 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 ...

, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh city Party Committee # Nguyễn Xuân Thắng, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council #

, Standing Member of the Secretariat of the Party # Phan Đình Trạc, Head of the PCC’s Commission of Internal Affairs # Trần Cẩm Tú, Chairman of the PCC’s Commission of Inspection The Secretariat (term 13) includes some Politburo members assigned to join the Secretariat and 5 comrades elected at the first PCC meeting (term 13). # Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Party General Secretary #

, Standing Member of the Secretariat of the Party # Trương Thị Mai, Head of the Party's Central Committee's Commission of Organisational Affairs # Trần Cẩm Tú, Chairman of the PCC’s Commission of Inspection # Phan Đình Trạc, Head of the PCC’s Commission of Internal Affairs # Nguyễn Hòa Bình, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court # Đỗ Văn Chiến, Chairman of the Presidium of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front # Bùi Thị Minh Hoài, Head of the Central Commission of Popularization # Lê Minh Hưng, Chief of the Office of the PCC #

Lê Minh Khái Lê Minh Khái (born 10 December 1964) is a politician of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He is Deputy Prime Minister for General Economics in the Government of Vietnam The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as ...

, Deputy Prime Minister # Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa, Head of the Central Commission of Propaganda

Fatherland Front

The Vietnamese Fatherland Front (VFF) ( vi, Mặt trận Tổ quốc Việt Nam) is an umbrella group of pro-communist movements. According to Article 9 of the Constitution, the VFF and its members constitute "the political base of people's power". The state must create a favorable environment for the VFF and its member organisations. The VFF is a voluntary mass organisation of political, socio-political and social organisations and "individuals from all classes, social strata, ethnic groups, and religions, including overseas Vietnamese." Its main objectives are to gather and build a people unity bloc, "strengthen the people's political and spiritual consensus, encourage the people to promote their mastership, to implement the CPV's guidelines and policies, and to abide by the Constitution and laws." The VFF is governed on the principles of "democratic consensus, coordinated and united action." Its organisation has been modelled after the state structure, and the VFF has its own independent statute. Notable member organisations of the VFF include the General Confederation of Labour, the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union and the Veteran Association, among others. , Chairman of the Central Committee , Đỗ Văn Chiến ,

, 2021 , - , Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee , rowspan="2", Hầu A Lềnh ,

, rowspan="2", 2017 , - , General Secretary of the Central Committee ,

Executive

The President of the Republic ( vi, Chủ tịch nước Việt Nam) is the

, elected to a five-year term 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 ...

, and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum tenure of 3 terms. In addition to being the Chairman of the Council for Defence and Security and commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing or dismissing of the Vice Presidents,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, Deputy Chief Judge of the Supreme People's Court and Head of the Supreme People's Procuracy, with the consent of the National Assembly through a simple majority vote. The President has influence on foreign policy, and has the right to declare a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

and to declare war. The

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

( vi, Chính phủ) It is headed by the president, prime minister and consists of deputy prime ministers, ministers and other members. The Government is a unified administration responsible for the implementation of political, economic, cultural, social, national defence, security and external activities of the state. It is also responsible for the effectiveness of the state apparatus itself from the top down, stabilisation in the country and the observance of the constitution. As with the President, the Government is elected by the deputies of the National Assembly for a five-year term. The Prime Minister of the Government ( vi, Thủ tướng Chính phủ) is the

and is elected or dismissed by the National Assembly, at the request of the president. Since 5 April 2021, the prime minister of the government has been Phạm Minh Chính. ,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ,

, 5 April 2021 , - ,

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Võ Thị Ánh Xuân Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (born 8 January 1970) is a Vietnamese politician and former educator who currently serves as the Vice President of Vietnam since 2021. She was the Acting President of Vietnam in early 2023. She was elected Vice President ...

, 6 April 2021 , - ,

, Phạm Minh Chính , Communist Party , 5 April 2021 , - , Deputy Prime Minister ,

, Communist Party , 2013 , - , Deputy Prime Minister ,

, Communist Party , 2021 , - , Deputy Prime Minister ,

Vũ Đức Đam Vũ Đức Đam (born 3 February 1963) is a Vietnamese politician who served as one of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Vietnam from 2013 until his sacking in 2023. A long-time assistant to the economic reformer Võ Văn Kiệt, Đam previou ...

, Communist Party , 2013 , - , Deputy Prime Minister , Lê Van Thành , Communist Party , 2021 , -

Legislative

The

( vi, Quốc hội) is a

legislative body, and is governed on the basis of

. It is the highest representative organ and the highest state organ. The National Assembly is the only organ vested with constitutional and legislative powers. It is responsible for fundamental domestic and foreign policies, socio-economic policies, defence and security issues, and it exercises supreme control over all state activities. Delegates (or members) of the National Assembly are elected through

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vo ...

s in democratic elections which are held every fifth year. The National Assembly is convened twice a year, and its Standing Committee represents it between sessions. ''The membership of the Standing Committee consists of the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

( vi, Chủ tịch Quốc hội), deputy chairmen and other members; these members are elected by the National Assembly. Standing Committee members cannot simultaneously be members of the Government. Members work on a full-time basis, and their terms of office correspond with the term of the National Assembly. The Standing Committee continues to function until a new National Assembly is elected. According to the constitution, the Standing Committee is responsible for 12 duties. Of these, the most important are the powers to announce, convene and chair the National Assembly sessions, to interpret the constitution, laws and ordinances, and to issue ordinances on those matters assigned by the National Assembly. It supervises and guides the People's Councils and their activities, and directs, regulates and coordinates the activities of the Ethnic Council and the committees of the National Assembly.'' There are seven committees of the National Assembly. Committee membership is determined by the National Assembly. They are responsible for the studying and examination of bills, legislative initiatives, drafts of ordinances and other drafts of legal documents and reports assigned by the National Assembly or the Standing Committee. The committees provide the National Assembly and its Standing Committee with their opinions on the legislative programme. The committees supervise and conduct investigations within their respective competency and exercise powers which are stipulated by law. The National Assembly elects the Ethnic Council, which consists of a Chairman, Deputy Chairmen and other members. The Ethnic Council studies and recommends actions to the National Assembly; the National Assembly has to consult with the Ethnic Council before issuing any decisions on ethnic policy. The Chairman of the Ethnic Council has to attend meetings of the Government which concern ethnic policy. The powers of the Ethnic Council are comparable to those of the committees. ,

, 31 March 2021 , - , Deputy Chairman , Trần Thanh Mẫn , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Deputy Chairman , Nguyễn Khắc Định , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Deputy Chairman , Nguyễn Đức Hải , Communist Party , 2021 , - , Deputy Chairman , General Trần Quang Phương , Communist Party , 20 July 2021 , - , Chairman of the Ethnic Council , Y Thanh Hà Niê Kđăm , Communist Party , 21 July 2021

Judiciary

The Vietnamese judicial system is based upon

Socialist legality Socialist law or Soviet law denotes a general type of legal system which has been (and continues to be) used in socialist and formerly socialist states. It is based on the civil law system, with major modifications and additions from Marxis ...

. The country's highest judicial organ is the Supreme People's Court (SPC) ( vi, Tòa án Nhân dân Tối cao). The composition of the SPC includes the Chief Justice ( vi, Chánh án Tòa án Nhân dân Tối cao), Deputy Chief Judge, jurors and court secretaries. The structure of the SPC (from the top down) is as follows: Council of Judges, Commission of Judges, Central Military Court, Criminal Court, Civil Court, Appeal Court, and assisting staff. The Chief Judge of the SPC is elected by the National Assembly, while the President of the Socialist Republic has the power to nominate and dismiss the Deputy Chief Judge and judges at the Chief Judge's request. The Central Committee of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front introduces People's Jurors, which are in turn appointed by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. According to the Government Web Portal, the operating principles of the courts are, during hearings, that the "judges and jurors are independent and only obey the laws." Justice and democracy within the system is supposedly ensured because legal decision-making is an open process. Jurors play an essential role, and defenders have the right of defence and to hire a lawyer. The Supreme People's Prosecutor (SPP) ( vi, Viện Kiểm sát Nhân dân Tối cao), the Vietnamese equivalent to an

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, observes the implementation process of the Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government organs, local authorities, social and economic organisations, the armed forces, security forces and the Vietnamese citizens in general. The SPP respects the Constitution and state laws, practices public prosecution as stated by the law and ensures law enforcement. The head of the SPP is elected, dismissed, or removed from office by a proposal of the President. The Deputy Heads, prosecutors and inspectors appointed by the SPP head can be dismissed by the President on the Head's request. The SPC is the highest court for appeal and review, and it reports to the National Assembly, which controls the judiciary's budget and confirms the president's nominees to the SPC and SPP. The SPP issues arrest warrants, sometimes retroactively. Below the SPC are district and provincial people's courts, military tribunals, and administrative, economic and labor courts. The people's courts are the courts of first instance. The

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

(MOD) has military tribunals, which have the same rules as civil courts. Military judges and assessors are selected by the MOD and the SPC, but the SPC has supervisory responsibility. Although the constitution provides for independent judges and lay assessors (who lack administrative training), the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

maintains that Vietnam lacks an independent judiciary, in part because the Communist Party selects judges and vets them for political reliability. Moreover, the party seeks to influence the outcome of cases involving perceived threats to the state or the party's dominant position. In an effort to increase judicial independence, the government transferred local courts from the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

to the SPC in September 2002. However, the Department of State saw no evidence that the move actually achieved the stated goal. Vietnam's judiciary is also hampered by a shortage of lawyers and by rudimentary trial procedures. The death penalty often is imposed in cases of corruption and drug trafficking. , Head of the Steering Committee of the Central Judicial Reform , Nguyễn Xuân Phúc ,

, 2021 , - , Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court , Nguyễn Hòa Bình ,

, 8 April 2016 , - , Director of the Supreme People's Prosecutor ,

Lê Minh Trí Le is a romanization of several rare East Asian surnames and a common Vietnamese surname. It is a fairly common surname in the United States, ranked 975th during the 1990 census and 368th during the 2000 census. In 2000, it was the eighth-most-c ...

, Communist Party , 8 April 2016

Elections

Article 6 of the Constitution states that "The people make use of state power through the agency of the National Assembly and the People's Councils, which represent the will and aspirations of the people, are elected by them and responsible to them". Deputies (members) of the National Assembly are directly elected on a democratic basis through secret ballots. All citizens who are 18 or older, regardless of ethnic group, gender, social position, belief, religion, level of education, occupation or length of residency have the right to vote, the exceptions being the mentally disabled and those people who have been deprived of the right to vote by law. People aged 21 or older have the right to stand as a candidate at elections. Three election commissions have been established to manage elections; at the central level is the Election Council, at the provincial level and in centrally-run cities the Election Committee is responsible for election monitoring and the Election Commission is responsible for election monitoring at constituencies. The current 500 members of the National Assembly were elected during the 2016 parliamentary election, and they have a five-year term. Despite foreign criticism, it is generally believed that the National Assembly has become more powerful in recent years. The last election was held, according to the authorities, in a democratic, fair, lawful and safe manner and was considered a success. Voter turnout was 99.51 percent; nearly 62 million people voted. In their respective constituencies, Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the

, was elected to the National Assembly with 85.63 percent of the votes, Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was elected with 95.38 percent and President Trương Tấn Sang was elected with 80.19 percent. Outside the ruling troika, it was Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the Chairman of the Government Office, who was elected with the highest margin, with 94.59 percent of the votes. The number of self-nominated candidates was four times higher than the previous election. Fifteen out of the 182 candidates nominated by the central government and the central party leadership were defeated in the elections. Lê Thị Thu Ba, a member of the Party's Central Committee and Chairman of the Committee of Law during the 12th National Assembly (2007–2011), was not re-elected to the National Assembly. Several

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

s were elected to the assembly, but due to the socialist ideology of the state, they are not allowed to sit on the assembly's Committee on Economy and Budget.

Nguyễn Sinh Hùng Nguyễn Sinh Hùng (born 18 January 1946) is a Vietnamese politician who served as Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam from 2011 to 2016. Nguyễn Sinh Hùng was previously one of the country's four "key leaders" (''lãnh đạo chủ ...

, the

of the National Assembly, nominated

for the Presidency. 487 deputies of the National Assembly, meaning 97.4 percent, voted in favour of Trương Tấn Sang. In his victory speech, Trương Tấn Sang said, "I pledge to improve my moral quality and study the example of the late President Hồ Chí Minh to cooperate with the government to bring Vietnam to become a fully industrialized country by 2015."

Latest parliamentary election

Latest presidential election

Local government

Provinces and municipalities are subdivided into towns, districts and villages. Provinces and municipalities are centrally controlled by the national government. Towns, districts and villages are locally accountable to some degree through elected people's councils. Certain cities and provinces are under direct control of the central government. The provinces are divided into districts, provincial cities and towns; cities under direct rule are divided into towns, urban and rural districts. In turn, the district is divided into communes and townlets. In the words of Article 118 of the Constitution, the "provincial city and the town are divided into wards and communes; the urban district is divided into wards." The establishment of People's Council and People's Committees is determined by law. In the provinces, the People's Council is the "local organ of State power", and it represents the "aspirations, and mastery of the people". The People's Council is democratically elected, and is accountable to the people and to superior organs of the state. It must pass resolutions which are formal orders of superior organs of state, and it acts on behalf of the constitution. The People's Council decides the plans for socio-economic development, decides the budget and is responsible for national defence and security at the local level. The deputy (member) of the People's Council acts on the behalf of the people, and has the right to make proposals to the People's Council and other local State organs. In turn, officials of these local organs have the responsibility to receive and to examine them. The People's Council appoint a People's Committee, the executive organ of the People's Council. It is the People's Committee which has the responsibility to implement "the Constitution, the law, the formal written orders of superior State organs and the resolutions of the People's Council." The People's Committee is headed by a Chairman, who acts as the body's leader. All decisions of the People's Committee are taken through a collegial decision-making process, and have to "conform to the will of the majority." The chairman has the power to annul decisions of lower standing organs. Local officials of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, its local head, and officials from other mass organisations in the locality have the right to attend the meetings of the People's Council and the People's Committee if relevant problems are discussed. According to Article 125 of the constitution, "The People's Council and the People's Committee shall make regular reports on the local situation in all fields to the Fatherland Front and the mass organisations; shall listen to their opinions and proposals on local power building and socio-economic development; shall cooperate with them in urging the people to work together with the State for the implementation of socio-economic, national-defence, and security tasks in the locality."

List of provinces

References

Bibliography

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External links

* Active Citizens under Political Wraps: Experiences from Myanmar/Burma and Vietnam pub. by the Heinrich Böl
Vietnam Government
Foundation, Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 2006, p. 201.
VUFO-NGO, Directory of Vietnam government ministry and agency websites
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Of Vietnam Government of Vietnam

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