Here's what we know so far about Vietnam's new Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh

• Vietnam’s National Assembly confirmed Pham Minh Chinh, a career security official, as the south east Asian country’s next prime minister at an official ceremony on Monday.

• Chinh, 62, was the sole nominee put forward by the ruling Communist Party for the post at a congress earlier this year. He won 96.25% of the vote at Monday’s National Assembly vote.

• Visit Vietnam Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Here’s the biography of Pham Minh Chinh, who was elected as Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on April 5, 2021, consolidated by Vietnam Government Portal (VGP).

• Date of birth: December 10, 1958
• Native land: Hoa Loc Commune, Hau Loc District, Thanh Hoa Province
• Date of Party admission: December 25, 1986

Education: Civil and industrial construction engineer, Doctor of law, Associate Professor of Security Science

Rewards

Third-Class Military Exploit Order

• Two Second-Class Feat Orders
• Second-Class Labor Order
• First-Class Glorious Fighter Medal
• Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit

Positions

• Member of the Party Central Committee: 11th, 12th, and 13th tenures
• Politburo member: 12th, 13th tenures
• Secretary of the 12th Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission
• Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (from April 5, 2021)
• Deputy to the 14th National Assembly; President of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians Group.

Early life

Phạm Minh Chính was born on 10 December 1958, at the commune of Hoa Lộc, district of Hậu Lộc, Thanh Hóa Province, in what was then the North Vietnam. In 1975, he studied at Hanoi University of Foreign Studies, nowadays Hanoi University. In 1976, he was sent to Socialist Republic of Romania to study at Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest. He was accepted to join the Communist Party of Vietnam on 25 December 1986, officially becoming a member of this party on 25 December 1987.

Related: Pham Minh Chinh becomes the Vietnam’s new prime minister

Political career

• September 1977 – September 1984: Student at Ha Noi University of Foreign Studies, Bucharest Civil Engineering University, Romania.
• August 1982 – September 1984: Elected as Secretary of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Committee in Romania, President of the Vietnamese Students’ Association in Romania
• September 1984 – January 1985: Graduated from university, waiting for work assignment
• January 1985 – August 1987: Intelligence officer, Department of Intelligence under General Department of Security, Ministry of Public Security
• July 1985 – September 1985: Undergo training on external affairs at Institute for International Relations (now Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam), Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• September 1986 – July 1987: Undergo training at School of Intelligence (now International Academy, Ministry of Public Security
• August 1987 – January 1989: Intelligence officer, Intelligence Unit in the Southern region, Intelligence Department under General Department of Security, Ministry of Public Security
• January 1989 – January 1990: Intelligence officer, Intelligence Unit in the Southern region under General Department of Intelligence, Ministry of Public Security
• January 1990 – March 1991: Intelligence officer, Department of Europe and America under General Department of Intelligence, Ministry of Public Security
• March 1991 – November 1994: Officer of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 3rd Secretary, then 2nd Secretary at the Vietnamese Embassy in Romania
• November 1994 – May 1999: Intelligence officer, Deputy Head of Division, Department of Europe under General Department of Intelligence, Ministry of Public Security, Staff of the Secretariat for ministry leaders, Ministry of Public Security
• August 1996 – January 1997: Undergoing training at People’s Security University (now People’s Security Academy), Ministry of Public Security
• September 1999 – September 2001: Undergoing training on high-level political theory at Senior Party School (now Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics)
• May 1999 – May 2006: Deputy Director, Acting Director then Director of Department of Economic-Science Technology and Environment Intelligence, General Department of Intelligence, Ministry of Public Security
• May 2006 – December 2009: Deputy Director General, General Department of Intelligence, in charge of economic-science-technology-environment intelligence, Ministry of Public Security
• December 2009 – August 2010: Deputy Director General and then Director General, General Department of Logistics-Engineering, Ministry of Public Security
• August 2010 – August 2011: Member of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Public Security in charge of logistics- engineering, finance, science, technology, environment, Ministry of Public Security. Elected as member of the Party Central Committee at the 11th National Party Congress
• August 2011 – February 2015: Member of the 11th Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Military Party Committee, member of the Military Zone 3 Party Committee, Ministry of National Defense
• February 2015 – January 2016: Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission. Elected to the Party Central Committee at the 12th National Party Congress and elected as a Politburo member at the first plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee
• February 2016 – April 2021: Politburo member, member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, Chairman of the 12th Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission, Head of the 12th Party Central Committee’s Sub-commission for Internal Political Security, member of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption, deputy to the 14th National Assembly, President of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group
• Elected to the Party Central Committee at the 13th National Party Congress and elected to the Politburo at the first plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee
• April 5, 2021: Elected as Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the 11th working session of the 14th National Assembly.

Source: VGP