Hanoi (VNA) - The 15th National Assembly, during its 10th session on October 25, approved the appointment of two Deputy Prime Ministers and three ministers for the 2021-2026 term, alongside several other key personnel decisions.
The legislature ratified the PM’s proposals to appoint Pham Thi Thanh Tra and Ho Quoc Dung as Deputy PMs for the term. The appointment of Tra marks a historic milestone, as she becomes Vietnam’s first female Deputy PM. The legislature also approved the appointment of Le Hoai Trung as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tran Duc Thang as Minister of Agriculture and Environment, and Do Thanh Binh as Minister of Home Affairs.
Tra, born in 1964 in Nghe An province, holds an advanced degree in political theory and a master’s in education management. A member of the Party Central Committee for the 12th and 13th tenures and a deputy of the 15th National Assembly, she has served in multiple leadership roles in Yen Bai province, including Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Council. She later became deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission and, in April 2021, was appointed Minister of Home Affairs - the first woman to hold that position since the ministry’s founding.
Deputy PM Dung, born in 1966 in Gia Lai province, is a member of the 13th Party Central Committee with a master’s degree in law and an advanced degree in political theory. He previously served as Secretary of the Binh Dinh provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, and most recently as Secretary of the Gia Lai provincial Party Committee.
With these approvals, the Vietnamese Government now has nine Deputy PMs.
The morning session, chaired by NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man, was held privately to consider personnel matters. Deputies heard a report presented by Nguyen Huu Dong, Permanent Vice Chairman of the NA Committee for Deputies Affairs, summarising opinions on various elections and appointments, including the election of committee chairs, the Secretary-General, and ratifications of the PM’s proposals on government positions.
Following an electronic vote, lawmakers approved the election of Dong as a member of the 15th National Assembly Standing Committee, Nguyen Thanh Hai as Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Science, Technology and Environment; and Le Quang Manh as NA Secretary-General and Chairman of the NA Office.
A subsequent secret ballot was held to finalise the appointments. The NA then voted electronically to pass resolutions confirming the results. All candidates received overwhelming support, with most votes exceeding 90% approval.
The legislators also passed a resolution adding Binh, Dong and Manh as members of the National Election Council.
In the afternoon, the NA committees continued working on their respective agendas. On October 27, deputies will meet in plenary to review and discuss several draft laws, including the Law on Temporary Detention, Custody and Restriction of Movement, the amended Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments, and amendments to the Law on Judicial Records, as well as deliberations on laws related to extradition, prisoner transfer and mutual legal assistance./.
