President of Vietnam

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Vietnam
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Vietnam

Constitution President Nguyễn Minh Triết Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng National Assembly Chairman: Nguyễn Phú Trọng Political parties Vietnamese Fatherland Front Communist Party of Vietnam Gen. Secrt: Nông Đức Mạnh Elections Provinces Human rights Foreign relations Foreign aid
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The President of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nước Việt Nam) is the head of state of Vietnam, although the functions of the President are often ceremonial. The President is responsible for appointing the Prime Minister and the Cabinet from among the members of the National Assembly, basing his or her decision upon indications from the Assembly itself. Other offices the president holds include (nominal) Commander of the Vietnamese military, and Head of the Council on National Defense and Security. He is also always a high-ranking member of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, as Vietnam is a single-party state. So far, all presidents have been male.

Image:Vietnamese Presidential Palace, Hanoi, 2006-Nov-17.jpg

The President is elected by the National Assembly for a five year term. He is always elected from the Assembly itself.

The office of President was created when the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was established in 1976. There have been six presidents since that point (assuming that Nguyen Huu Tho, who was only Acting President, is not counted). From 4 July 1981, the title was changed from President to Chairman of the State Council, but was restored to President from 22 September 1992.

	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1	Ton Duc Thang	2 July 1976	30 March 1980	Communist Party
	Nguyen Huu Tho (acting)	30 March 1980	4 July 1981	Communist Party
2	Truong Chinh	4 July 1981	18 June 1987	Communist Party
3	Vo Chi Cong	18 June 1987	22 September 1992	Communist Party
4	Le Duc Anh	23 September 1992	24 September 1997	Communist Party
5	Tran Duc Luong	24 September 1997	27 June 2006	Communist Party
6	Nguyen Minh Triet	27 June 2006	(present)	Communist Party