From left - Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung

The 15th National Assembly (NA) adopted a resolution on the Government’s organizational structure for the 2021-2026 tenure in the morning of July 23, as part of the 15th legislature’s first session in Hanoi.

One day ago, the Government submitted to the National Assembly the Government structure of the 2021-2026 term with 22 agencies, including 18 ministries and four ministerial-level agencies, the same as the one in the 14th tenure.

The 18 ministries are the Ministries of National Defence; Public Security; Foreign Affairs; Home Affairs; Justice; Planning and Investment; Finance; Industry and Trade; Agriculture and Rural Development; Transport; Construction; Natural Resources and the Environment; Information and Communications; Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Science and Technology; Education and Training; and Health.

The ministerial-level agencies include the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs; the State Bank of Vietnam; Government Inspectorate and Government Office.

With the structure, the Government would have a stable number of ministries and branches unchanged over the last four tenures, from the 12th tenure (2007-2011) to now.

Under the program on state administrative reform in 2021-2030, the Government strives to continue to restructure its organization by reducing the number of ministries and ministerial-level agencies, and proportionally reducing the number of professional agencies belonging to provincial and district-level people’s committee, as well as cutting the number of intermediary organizations.

As such, the Government still isn't consider merging ministries and branches as mentioned in Resolution 18 on continuing the re-arrangement of the apparatus of the political system.

Regarding the tasks and solutions, the resolution says it is "continuing to study and clarify the theoretical and practical basis for the multi-field management of some ministries and branches, especially ones with overlapping functions and tasks, so as to have more reasonable solutions and restructure the apparatus".

Following the ideas about cabinet restructuring, the Government carried out thorough studies and organized discussions on the issue. However, in the current conditions, when the Government has to gather strength on presiding over the dual task of both ensuring economic development and fighting the pandemic, it believes that it would be better to keep the cabinet structure stable.

Based on the results of the Government’s work in 2016-2021 which the NA assessed in Resolution 161/2021, the cabinet structure stabilization is reasonable and necessary.

The Politburo has also concluded that in the immediate time, it is necessary to keep the names, organizational structure, and the number of ministries and ministerial-level agencies of the 15th tenure the same as the 14th one.

In the time to come, the Government will ask for a review of the last 20-year implementation of the Government organizational model from the 12th to the 15th tenures in a methodical way, which will more clearly define the ministries’ and branches’ multi-field management spheres.

It promised to study and clarify the theoretical and practical basis for the apparatus structure, functions and state management tasks of ministries and branches in the new conditions.

The Government will continue the study on re-arranging some ministries and branches with similar tasks and functions as per the spirit of the Central Committee Resolutions 18 and 19, and NA Resolution 56, which attach much importance to the building of an administrative reform strategy by 2030, with a vision until 2045.

According to NA Secretary General Bui Van Cuong, after approving the Government organizational structure, the NA will determine the 27 positions of the Government. There will be one fewer Deputy Prime Minister than in the 2016-2021 tenure.

The NA will elect the Prime Minister, approve four Deputy Prime Minister, 18 Ministers and four Heads of ministerial-level agencies. Most of the personnel introduced to these positions are re-elected.

The Government now has 28 members, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and five Deputy Prime Ministers – Truong Hoa Binh, Pham Binh Minh, Vu Duc Dam, Le Minh Khai and Le Minh Thanh.

Of the 28 Government members, Binh did not join the 13th Party Central Committee, so the 2021-2026 Government will have four instead of five Deputy Prime Ministers.

The other 27 Government members include
1. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh
2. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh
3. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam
4. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai
5. Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh
6. Minister of National Defence Phan Van Giang
7. Minister of Public Security To Lam
8. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son
9. Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra
10. Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long
11. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung
12. Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc
13. Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien
14. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan
15. Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The
16. Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi
17. Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Tran Hong Ha
18. Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung
19. Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung
20. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung
21. Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat
22. Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son
23. Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long
24. Minister, Chair of the Government Office Tran Van Son
25. Minister, Chair of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs Hau A Lenh
26. Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong
27. Chief Government Inspector Doan Hong Phong 

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