For a list of presidents of South Vietnam, see Leaders of South Vietnam. For a comprehensive list of both North and South Vietnam, see List of heads of state of Vietnam.
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This is a list of president of the Socialist Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) from the establishment of the position to the present. Vietnam is a single-party state and the president is generally considered to hold the second highest position in the political system, after the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In its current incarnation the president is the head of state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as well as the head of government in tandem with prime minister. The president represents Vietnam internally and externally, supervises the work as well as preserving the stability of the national governmental system and safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of the country. The president appoints prime minister, vice-presidents, ministers and other officials with the consent of the National Assembly. The head of state is the de jure commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and chairman of the Council for Defence and Security, an organ of the National Assembly. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, with the Communist Party of Vietnam being the sole party allowed by the constitution, all the presidents of the Democratic Republic and its successor Socialist Republic have been members of the party while holding office. The current president is Lương Cường since 21 October 2024.
The modern office of the president of the Socialist Republic traces its lineage back to Hồ Chí Minh, the first president of the North Vietnam. The office has no connection, or lineage, to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, headed by Comunist Nguyễn Hữu Thọ. There have been 14 presidents.
Hồ Chí Minh, the first president, became president in 1945 after Vietnam's declaration of independence. Tô Lâm is the shortest-serving president, with 152 days (from May 22, 2024 to October 21, 2024) if not counting interim presidents. Hồ Chí Minh had the longest time as president, with 24 years from 1945 to his death in 1969. He was also the president who served the most terms with 4 terms (1945, 1946, 1960, 1964). Meanwhile, Tôn Đức Thắng was also the president in office for 4 terms (1969, 1971, 1975, 1976). The Constitution stipulates that the term of office of the president follows the term of the National Assembly (usually 5 years) and there is no limit to the number of re-elections. However, most presidents serve for one term. The president with the longest interim term is Nguyễn Hữu Thọ with 1 year and 96 days, longer than the official President Võ Văn Thưởng with only 1 year 19 days.
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam, 1945–1976)
- Status
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Political Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945–1975) | ||||||
| 1 | 
|
Hồ Chí Minh (1890–1969) |
2 September 1945 | 2 September 1969 (Died in office) |
24 years | Indochinese Communist Party/ Worker's Party of Vietnam |
| — | 
|
Huỳnh Thúc Kháng (1876–1947) |
29 May 1946 | 21 October 1946 | 145 days | Independent |
| — | 
|
Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) |
2 September 1969 | 23 September 1969 | 21 days | Worker's Party of Vietnam |
| 2 | 23 September 1969 | 2 July 1976 | 6 years, 283 days | |||
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)
- Status
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of Office | Election | Political Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||||
| (2) |
|
Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) |
2 July 1976 | 30 March 1980 |
3 years, 272 days | 1976 | Worker's Party/ Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | 
|
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996) |
30 March 1980 | 4 July 1981 | 1 year, 96 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| Chairman of the Council of State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||||
| 3 | 
|
Trường Chinh (1907–1988) |
4 July 1981 | 18 June 1987 | 5 years, 349 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 4 | Võ Chí Công (1912–2011) |
18 June 1987 | 22 September 1992 | 5 years, 96 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam | |
| President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | |||||||
| 5 | Lê Đức Anh (1920–2019) |
23 September 1992 | 24 September 1997 | 5 years, 1 day | 1992 | Communist Party of Vietnam | |
| 6 | 
|
Trần Đức Lương (1937–) |
24 September 1997 | 27 June 2006 |
8 years, 276 days | 1997 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 7 | 
|
Nguyễn Minh Triết (1942–) |
27 June 2006 | 25 July 2011 | 5 years, 28 days | 2006 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 8 | 
|
Trương Tấn Sang (1949–) |
25 July 2011 | 2 April 2016 | 4 years, 252 days | 2011 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 9 | 
|
Trần Đại Quang (1956–2018) |
2 April 2016 | 21 September 2018 |
2 years, 172 days | 2016 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | 
|
Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (1959–) |
21 September 2018 | 23 October 2018 | 32 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 10 | 
|
Nguyễn Phú Trọng (1944–2024) |
23 October 2018 | 5 April 2021 | 2 years, 164 days | 2018 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 11 | 
|
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (1954–) |
5 April 2021 | 18 January 2023 |
1 year, 288 days | 2021 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | 
|
Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (1970–) |
18 January 2023 | 2 March 2023 | 43 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 12 | 
|
Võ Văn Thưởng (1970–) |
2 March 2023 | 21 March 2024 |
1 year, 19 days | 2023 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | 
|
Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (1970–) |
21 March 2024 | 22 May 2024 | 62 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 13 | .jpg)
|
Tô Lâm (1957–) |
22 May 2024 | 21 October 2024 | 152 days | May 2024 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 14 | 
|
Lương Cường (1957–) |
21 October 2024 | Incumbent | 77 days | October 2024 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
Timeline
List of presidents by length of tenure
| Rank | No. | Name | Party | Length of term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hồ Chí Minh | ICP/WPV | 24 years |
| 2 | 2 | Tôn Đức Thắng | WPV/CPV | 10 years, 210 days |
| 3 | 6 | Trần Đức Lương | CPV | 8 years, 276 days |
| 4 | 3 | Trường Chinh | CPV | 5 years, 349 days |
| 5 | 4 | Võ Chí Công | CPV | 5 years, 97 days |
| 6 | 7 | Nguyễn Minh Triết | CPV | 5 years, 28 days |
| 7 | 5 | Lê Đức Anh | CPV | 5 years |
| 8 | 8 | Trương Tấn Sang | CPV | 4 years, 252 days |
| 9 | 9 | Trần Đại Quang | CPV | 2 years, 172 days |
| 10 | 10 | Nguyễn Phú Trọng | CPV | 2 years, 164 days |
| 11 | 11 | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | CPV | 1 year, 288 days |
| 12 | — | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ | CPV | 1 year, 96 days |
| 13 | 12 | Võ Văn Thưởng | CPV | 1 year, 18 days |
| 14 | 13 | Tô Lâm | CPV | 152 days |
| 15 | — | Huỳnh Thúc Kháng | None | 145 days |
| 16 | — | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân | CPV | 105 days |
| 17 | 14 | Lương Cường | CPV | 77 days |
| 18 | — | Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh | CPV | 32 days |
See also
- List of prime ministers of Vietnam
- List of heads of state of Vietnam
- List of spouses of Vietnamese presidents
- Leaders of South Vietnam
Notes
- a. These numbers are official. The "—" denotes acting head of state. The first column shows how many presidents there have been in Vietnamese history, while the second show how many presidents there was in that state.
- b. Concurrently serving as the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Vietnam.
- c. Concurrently serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
- d. Concurrently serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since 3 August 2024.
References
- Trí, Dân (21 October 2024). "Ông Lương Cường giữ chức Chủ tịch nước". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ONLINE, TUOI TRE (21 October 2024). "Đại tướng Lương Cường được bjl làm Chủ tịch nước". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- "Biography of Mr. Vo Van Thuong, Vietnamese State President". chinhphu.vn.
- "Tóm tắt tiểu sử Bộ trưởng Bộ Công an Tô Lâm". Chính phủ Việt Nam. 15 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020.
- "General To Lam becomes the President of Vietnam since 22 May 2024". VnExpress. 22 May 2024.
- "Tiểu sử tân Chủ tịch nước Lương Cường". chinhphu.vn. 21 October 2024.
- "Army General Lương Cường becomes the President of Vietnam since 21 October 2024". VnExpress. 21 October 2024.
Bibliography
- Koh, David (July–August 2008). "Leadership Changes at the 10th Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party". Asian Survey. 48 (4): 650–672. doi:10.1525/as.2008.48.4.650. JSTOR 3738744.
- Van, Canh Nguyen; Cooper, Earle (1983). Vietnam under Communism, 1975–1982. Hoover Press. ISBN 9780817978518.
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