Phạm Bình Minh (; born 26 March 1959) is a Vietnamese diplomat and politician serving as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 2011 to 2021 and as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

of Vietnam from 2013 to 2023. Between September 2021 and his dismissal in January 2023, he also served as the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, the most senior among the deputy prime ministers, in the Cabinet of Phạm Minh Chính. Minh was also a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country's highest decision-making body, headed by

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Nguyễn Phú Trọng. Born in Nam Định Province, Minh was educated at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. He is the son of Nguyễn Cơ Thạch, who also served as vice premier and foreign minister of Vietnam. On December 30, 2022, he was voted out of both the Central Committee and the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

of the Communist Party of Vietnam and stepped down from his position on January 5, 2023, after 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 repr ...

selected a successor. His dismissal was announced without specific reasons, but the moves come after he was accused of being involved in a scheme to extort fees from repatriate Vietnamese citizens stuck abroad during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

with his ministerial assistant being arrested earlier in September 2022.

Early life

Phạm Bình Minh graduated in 1981 from the University of Diplomacy (now the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam). He obtained a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at Fletcher School, Tufts University, United States of America. He is fluent in Vietnamese and English.

Career

Minh began his diplomatic career in 1981 as a Desk Officer at the Department of Training in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam. From 1982 to 1985, he held the position of an Attaché at the Embassy of Viet Nam to the United Kingdom. Before assuming the position of Deputy Director General of the Department for International Organizations from 1991 to 1999, he worked as a Desk Officer at the Department for General Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1990. In the period of 1999 - January 2003, he served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Viet Nam to the United States of America. Back in Viet Nam in 2003, he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Acting Director General and Director General of the Department for International Organizations, Head of Delegation for Dialogue on Human Rights with other countries. He was elected as an alternate member of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in April 2006, and became a member of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in January 2009. Currently, he is a member of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He was elected as a member of the 13th National Assembly in November 2008. He was appointed Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs in September 2006 and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in November 2007, then Permanent Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam until August 2011. On 13 November 2013, he was designated as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Prior to that time, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam on 3 August 2011 and since then has served as the 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam. On January, 5th, 2023, Vietnamese National Assembly has officially relieved his position of Deputy Prime Minister. The dismissal and retirement are said to be according to his wishes.

Awards and honours

He has been conferred with many awards of high distinction, namely the Third-Class Labour Order in 2009 for excellent performance from 2002 to 2008; the National Emulation Fighter in 2010 for excellent performance in the national emulation campaign and contribution to the cause of socialist building and national defence; the Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit in 2011 for excellent performance and contribution during Viet Nam’s Non-Permanent Membership of the United Nations Security Council, contributing to the cause of socialist building and national defence; the Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit in 2006 for excellent performance from 2001 to 2006; and the Medal for the Diplomatic Cause in 2003 for valuable contribution to the development of Viet Nam’s diplomacy.(Vietnamese)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Binh Minh 1959 births Living people People from Nam Định province Government ministers of Vietnam Ministers of foreign affairs of Vietnam 21st-century Vietnamese diplomats Members of the 12th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 13th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 11th Central Committee 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 Members of the National Assembly (Vietnam) Deputy prime ministers of Vietnam

Early life

Career

Awards and honours

See also

References