BANGKOK (AP) — Vietnam’s president resigned in the latest episode of the ruling Communist Party's “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, and Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan was named acting president.
The appointment is Xuan's second stint as acting president after she stepped in when Vo Van Thuong's predecessor resigned in early 2023. The turmoil among top leaders is raising questions about Vietnam’s political stability as its fast-growing economy plays an increasingly important role in world supply chains.
Vietnam depends heavily on exports and foreign investment, but its leaders have been tightening the party's grip on power and cracking down on dissent as well as widespread corruption. Analysts say the turnover in leadership pinned to the anti-graft campaign also stems from rivalries within the ruling party.
VIETNAM'S POLITICAL SHAKEUP
Thuong is the second leader in two years to resign as president, a largely ceremonial role. The most powerful post is held by Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
Xuan's appointment as acting president until the National Assembly meets to elect a new president is a rare instance of a woman ascending to a top political post in the Southeast Asian country.
In announcing Thuong's departure, state media said his violations had “left a bad mark on the reputation of the Communist Party.” His resignation came days after the former chief of Quang Ngai province, in central Vietnam, was arrested on suspicion of corruption. Thuong is a former party chief of the province.
Thuong was a protege of Trong, who has headed the party since 2011 and is 79, and it's unclear how this change might Vietnam's future leadership.
WHO IS VIETNAM'S ACTING PRESIDENT?
Xuan, 54, has been vice president since 2021. A former high school teacher, she is Vietnam's first female president, but she was acting president for six weeks last year after Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned as president in the midst of a scandal linked to Vietnam's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reports in Vietnam's state media say Xuan studied chemistry teaching and holds a master's degree in public administration. She initially rose in party ranks as a leader of the women's union in southern Vietnam's An Giang province.
Official media give little further information about Xuan.
WHAT IS THE LIKELY IMPACT OF THIS RESHUFFLE?
Vietnam's economy has boomed over the past decade as foreign investment poured in and the country became a preferred alternative to China as relations festered between Beijing and Washington.