Politics of Vietnam

Legal framework

State ideology

Vietnam is a socialist republic with a one-party system led by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). According to Pierre Brocheux, the author of Ho Chi Minh: a Biography, the state ideology is Hồ Chí Minh Thought, with Marxism–Leninism playing a secondary role.^[7]

The thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh were not systematised until 1989, under the leadership of Nguyễn Văn Linh.^[8] Hồ Chí Minh Thought, alongside Marxism–Leninism, became the official ideology of the CPV and the state in 1991.^[9] The CPV's claim to legitimacy was retained following the collapse of communism in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 through its commitment to the thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh, according to Sophie Quinn-Judge.^[10] Some scholars^[which?] argue that the party leadership has ceased believing in communism and uses Hồ Chí Minh Thought as a veil. However, other scholars^[which?] disagree, noting that Hồ Chí Minh was an avid supporter of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Others^[which?] view Hồ Chí Minh Thought as a political umbrella term that primarily serves to smuggle in non-socialist ideas and policies without challenging socialist legality.^[9]

Since the introduction of a mixed economy in the 1980s and 1990s, Marxism–Leninism has lost its monopolistic ideological and moral legitimacy.^[11] The Đổi Mới reforms demonstrate that the Party could not base its rule on defending only the workers and the peasants (officially: the "working class-peasant alliance").^[12] In the constitution introduced in 1992, the State represented the "workers, peasants and intellectuals".^[11] The Party has thus stopped representing a specific class in favour of the "interests of the entire people", which includes entrepreneurs.^[11] 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, developmentalism, and becoming the protector of tradition.^[13]

Communist Party of Vietnam

The communist state which emerged in the 20th century has been described either as totalitarian^[14][15] or not totalitarian but autocratic;^[16] the system established after the 1986 reforms has inherited some legacies of the past, with the freedom of assembly, association, expression, press and religion as well as civil society activism being restricted.^[14][15]

In 2021, General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, was re-elected for his third term in office.^[17] In July 2024, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng died and was succeeded by Tô Lâm. In January 2026, Tô Lâm was re-elected as general secretary of the Vietnam's Communist Party for the next five years by the party congress.^[18]

Central Committee

Main article: Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam

The Central Committee (CC) is the CPV's "most powerful institution".^[21] It delegates some of its powers to the Secretariat and the Politburo when it is not in session.^[22] When the Vietnam War 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.^[23] 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.^[23] The number of Central Committee members with a provincial background increased from 15.6% in 1982 to 41% in 2000. Trương Tấn Sang, the President of Vietnam from 2011 to 2016, was directly elected from the provinces at the 8th Party Congress, held in 1996.^[23] Because of the devolution of power, the powers of the Central Committee have increased; for instance, when a two-thirds majority of the Politburo voted in favour of retaining Lê Khả Phiêu as General Secretary (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.^[23] 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.^[23]

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.^[24]

This section is an excerpt from 14th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam § Composition.[edit]

The current 19-member Politburo was elected on January 23, 2026, at the first plenum of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam following the respective 14th National Party Congress. The current ranking is nominated following the confirmation of the 16th Government.^[25]

More information Rank, Name ...

Members of the 14th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam

Rank	Name		13th	Birth	PM	Birthplace	Education	Ethnicity	Gender	Ref.
1		Tô Lâm	Member	1957	1981	Hưng Yên	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[26]
2		Lê Minh Hưng	Member	1970	2000	Hà Tĩnh	Graduate	Kinh	Male	[27]
3		Trần Thanh Mẫn	Member	1962	1982	Cần Thơ	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[28]
4		Trần Cẩm Tú	Member	1961	1990	Hà Tĩnh	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[29]
5		Đỗ Văn Chiến	Member	1962	1986	Tuyên Quang	Postgraduate	Sán Dìu	Male	[30]
6		Bùi Thị Minh Hoài	Member	1965	1991	Ninh Bình	Graduate	Kinh	Female	[31]
7		Phan Văn Giang	Member	1960	1982	Ninh Bình	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[32]
8		Lương Tam Quang	Member	1965	1998	Hưng Yên	Undergraduate	Kinh	Male	[33]
9		Nguyễn Duy Ngọc	Member	1964	1986	Hưng Yên	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[34]
10		Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa	Member	1962	1982	Đồng Tháp	Undergraduate	Kinh	Male	[35]
11		Trịnh Văn Quyết	Nonmember	1966	—	Hải Phòng	Undergraduate	Kinh	Male	[36]
12		Lê Hoài Trung	Nonmember	1961	1986	Huế	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[37]
13		Lê Minh Trí	Nonmember	1960	1984	Hồ Chí Minh	Undergraduate	Kinh	Male	[38]
14		Trần Lưu Quang	Nonmember	1967	1997	Tây Ninh	Undergraduate	Kinh	Male	[39]
15		Phạm Gia Túc	Nonmember	1965	1989	Ninh Bình	Graduate	Kinh	Male	[40]
16		Trần Sỹ Thanh	Nonmember	1971	1995	Nghệ An	Graduate	Kinh	Male	[41]
17		Nguyễn Thanh Nghị	Nonmember	1976	1999	Cà Mau	Graduate	Kinh	Male	[42]
18		Đoàn Minh Huấn	Nonmember	1971	1995	Hà Tĩnh	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[43]
19		Trần Đức Thắng	Nonmember	1973	2002	Phú Thọ	Postgraduate	Kinh	Male	[44]

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Fatherland Front

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) 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".^[45] The state must create a favorable environment for the VFF and its member organisations.^[45]

Elections

The AFP reported in 2011 that though "even critics" believed that the National Assembly had grown "more vocal", the CVP retains control over elections.^[46] In that year's elections, 15 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. Some capitalists were elected to the assembly and then barred from sitting on the assembly's Committee on Economy and Budget.^[47] State-sponsored media reported the elections as a success.^[48] Nguyễn Sinh Hùng, the Chairman of the National Assembly, nominated Trương Tấn Sang for the Presidency.^[49] VietnamPlus and Xinhua News Agency reported that 487 deputies of the National Assembly,^[50] or 97.4%, voted in favour of Trương Tấn Sang.^[51] According to the People's Daily, Trương Tấn Sang said in his victory speech, "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".^[52]

Executive

The Prime Minister of the Government is the head of government and is elected or dismissed by the National Assembly, at the request of the president.^[53]

Legislative

This section is an excerpt from National Assembly of Vietnam.[edit]

The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (N.A.; Vietnamese: Quốc hội nước Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam)^[a] is the unicameral supreme state organ of power of Vietnam. It is the only branch of government in Vietnam and, in accordance with the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it.

The National Assembly is a 500-delegate unicameral body elected to a five-year term. It normally sits twice a year, or more frequently if called for by the National Assembly Standing Committee. It appoints the president (head of state), the prime minister (head of government), the chief justice of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam, the head of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam (or 'Supreme People's Office of Supervision and Inspection'), and the 21-member Government.

Constitutionally, the National Assembly is the highest government organization and the highest-level representative body of the people. It has the power to draw up, adopt, and amend the constitution and to make and amend laws. The National Assembly also has the responsibility to legislate and implement state plans and budgets. Through its constitution-making powers it defines its own role and the roles of the Vietnamese State President, the Vietnamese Government, the local people's councils and people's committees, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy. The National Assembly can replace and remove government ministers, the chief justice of the Supreme People's Court, and the procurator general of the Supreme People's Procuracy. Finally, it has the de jure power to initiate or conclude wars and to assume other duties and powers it deems necessary.

In practice, like its counterparts in other communist states, the National Assembly has been characterized as a rubber stamp body of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) or only being able to affect issues of low sensitivity to the regime. The CPV controls nomination and election processes at every level. The CPV has influence over the executive and exercises control through the 150-member Central Committee, which elects the 15-member Politburo at national party congresses held every five years. All senior government positions are held by members of the party.^[54] While vested with greater lawmaking and oversight powers on paper, in practice the National Assembly "does little more than ratify decisions already made by the CPV and its Politburo and only opposes the party on rare occasions", such as a rejection of a high speed rail between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2010.^[55]

Judiciary

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) is the highest court for appeal and review, and reports to the National Assembly, which controls the judiciary's budget and confirms the president's nominees to the SPC and SPP. 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 (MOD) has military tribunals, which have the same rules as civil courts. Military judges and assessors are selected by the MOD and the SPC, and the SPC has supervisory responsibility.^[56]

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.^[56]