This is the sixth time he has been elected to hold key positions of the Party and the State. Every time he was elected, Mr Trong in his inauguration speech has always demonstrated humility, sincerity and character of a communist.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the press conference after the closing ceremony of the 13th National Party Congress on February 1.

Fifteen years ago, on June 26, 2006, Mr. Trong, Hanoi’s Party chief at that time, was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly.

Addressing his inauguration at the Ba Dinh hall at that time, Mr. Trong sincerely thanked the National Assembly for electing him as Chairman of the National Assembly. "This is a great honor and a very heavy responsibility for me," he said.

“For me, entering into a new field of work will inevitably encounter many difficulties. I find myself still limited, both in terms of knowledge and experience. Therefore, I hope to receive active help from the members of the National Assembly; the close cooperation of the comrades in the National Assembly Standing Committee; the regular coordination of concerned agencies and organizations; and the support of voters and people nationwide.”

“I am very touched to know that comrade Nguyen Van An, the former Chairman, who has made a lot of contributions to renewing the activities of the National Assembly in recent years, is willing to share experiences with me and help me," said Nguyen Phu Trong, Chairman of the 11th National Assembly.

He also promised to overcome difficulties, do his best to study and practice, preserve moral qualities, succeed in the duties of the comrades who went ahead, and join National Assembly deputies and its agencies to continue to innovate and improve the quality of the National Assembly's operations, so that the National Assembly is increasingly worthy of being the highest body of State power and the highest representative agency of the people, meeting the requirements of the revolution in the new phase.

On July 23, 2007, Mr. Trong was re-elected to be the National Assembly Chairman of the new term.

Addressing his inauguration, Chairman of the 12th National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: “In the course of implementing my duties, under the leadership of the Party and the 12th National Assembly Standing Committee, I will personally cooperate closely with the President, the Prime Minister, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the bodies of the National Assembly, and members of the National Assembly, to strive to fulfill well the assigned tasks, to meet the expectations of the people."

At that time, Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong also promised to stand side by side with the members of the National Assembly, giving all his abilities and efforts to strive to improve the sense of responsibility to the Party and perform well the tasks that the 10th National Party Congress had proposed.

Particularly, he committed firmly to fight against corruption; strive to further improve the legislative and supervisory capacity of the National Assembly, renew working methods, resolutely struggle with manifestations of bureaucracy; and regularly keep contact with the people to deserve to be the agency representing the will and aspirations of the people.

On January 19, 2011, the 11th Party Central Committee elected Mr. Trong as the Party Secretary General for the 2011-2015 term.

At the press conference right after that, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sincerely and frankly spoke. Asked which country he will pay a visit to first, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said: "To be honest, I have just taken office as the General Secretary. I’m still unfamiliar when you call me the General Secretary. I have not thought about where to visit yet. Perhaps I will have to do it later. The Foreign Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will prepare it. Moreover, I have to be invited to pay a visit to other countries."

When referring to the fields that he wished to make his mark in, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said: "When I do anything, I do not think about the purpose of making a mark, not to polish myself. It is the responsibility of Party members and cadres to seriously implement the resolutions of the Party. It is good to perform the Party's resolutions well."

At the inauguration ceremony, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong thanked delegates for their trust to elect him to the highest position of the Party, with great responsibility, and affirmed that the Politburo would try to overcome all challenges in the coming time.

"The 12th Party Central Committee promises to work together with the entire Party and the people to promote the glorious tradition, strengthen solidarity, steadfast in the goal of national independence, renew the working style of Party agencies from central to local level, be close to the people, respect the people,” General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said.

Responding to the media question about being re-elected by the National Party Congress, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said: "I did not expect that I was to be elected by the Congress to the Party Central Committee. The first session of the Party Central Committee also elected me to the position of General Secretary with an almost absolute number of votes.”

“I was surprised because my age was high, my health and my qualifications are limited. I have also asked for resignation, but with the responsibility assigned by the Party, as a party member I must fulfill my responsibilities. I’m surprised, touched and worried because the upcoming work is heavy and the responsibility is huge. In the current local and international developments, there are opportunities, but also many challenges and difficulties."

On October 23, 2018, Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong was elected by the 14th National Assembly to be the State President for the 2016-2020 term.

Taking the oath as the President of Vietnam before the National Assembly, Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong said: "Under the sacred flag of the Fatherland, before the National Assembly, the people and voters of the whole country, I, the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, take an oath: to be absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the people, to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to strive to fulfill the tasks assigned by the Party, the State and the people."

In his address at the inauguration ceremony, General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong said: "I will try to fulfill the task as I have just sworn to the National Assembly, to the people and voters nationwide."

“Some delegates probably want to know how am I feeling right now. I’m honest in saying that I'm both happy and worried. I'm glad that the National Assembly, the people trust me to assign me to this position. I’m worried about how to fulfill my duties well. This is my honest thought, which is similar to my feeling over 12 years ago, when I was elected Chairman of the 11th National Assembly.”

“I remember that day, June 26, 2006, at 4pm, the National Assembly elected me to be the Chairman of the National Assembly. At that time, I was both happy and worried, but I was more worried because I had never been the Chairman of the National Assembly, I had not been familiar with the work of the National Assembly (at that time he was the Party Secretary of Hanoi, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council).

 Thu Hang

Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong re-elected as Party General Secretary of 13th tenure

General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong has been elected by the 13th Party Central Committee as the General Secretary for the new term.