Minister of Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang.

Defense Minister Phan Van Giang, 61, a native of Nam Dinh province, participated in the border war in 1979 and worked at many military agencies.

Giang holds a doctoral degree in military sciences. He was a member of the Political Bureau in the 13th tenure, a member of the Party Central Committee in the 12th, 13th tenures, Senior Lieutenant General, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army.

Giang joined the army at the age of 18. He held various positions in the army before being appointed as Deputy Minister of National Defence in May 2016.

8/1978 - 11/1979: A soldier of the Battalion 4, Regiment 677, Division 346 (stationed in Cao Bang Province).

12/1979 – 4/1980: Study at the Culture School of Military Region 1.

5/1980 - 8/1983: Join the Party (12/1982), a student of the Tank Technical Commanding School.

9/1983 - 9/1984: Lieutenant, Head of Company 3, Battalion 1037, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

10/1984 - 4/1986: Member of the Party Cell, Senior Lieutenant (6/1985), Vice head of Company 1 in charge of techniques, Battalion 1037, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

5/1986 - 3/1989: Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell, Captain (6/1988), head of Company 1, Battalion 1037, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

4/1989 – 8/1990: Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of Battalion 1037, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

9/1990 - 9/1993: Captain, Major (7/1992), a student of the Academy of Ground Forces.

10/1993 - 3/1996: Major, Assistant to the General Staff, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

4/1996 – 8/1997: Major, Lieutenant Colonel (8/1997), Deputy Chief of Staff of Regiment 141, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

9/1997 - 11/1999: Deputy Regiment Commander - Chief of Staff of Regiment 209, Division 312, Army Corps 1 (10/1998- 6/1999: Student of the Logistics Academy).

12/1999 – 7/2001: Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Commander of Regiment 209, Division 312, Army Corps 1.

8/2001 - 5/2003: Lieutenant Colonel, Senior Lieutenant Colonel (9/2001), Deputy Chief of Staff of Division 312, Army Corps 1 (9/2001-7/2002: studying at the Academy for Defence).

6/2003 - 10/2003: Deputy Head - Chief of Staff of Division 312, Army Corps 1.

11/2003 - 7/2008: Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Division, Senior Lieutenant Colonel (9/2005), Commander of Division 312, Army Corps 1 (9/2006 – 8/2007: study at the Academy for Ground Forces).

8/2008 - 01/2009: Colonel, Deputy Commander of Army Corps 1.

2/2009 – 5/2010: Deputy Commander - Chief of Staff of the Army Corps 1.

6/2010 - 9/2011: Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Army Corps, Colonel, Major General (8/2010), Commander of the Army Corps 1 (9/2007-12/2011: Post-graduate trainee at the National Defense Academy).

10/2011 – 2/2014: Major General, Lieutenant General (9/2013) Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam.

3/2014 - 3/2016: Member of the 12th Party Central Committee; Member of the Central Military Commission; Lieutenant General, Commander of Military Region 1.

4/2016 - 5/2016: Member of the 12th Party Central Committee; Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, Lieutenant General, and Deputy Minister of Defense.

From 5/2016: Member of the 12th Party Central Committee; Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission; Lieutenant General, Senior Lieutenant General (September 2017), Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of Defense. At the 13th National Party Congress, he was re-elected to the Party Central Committee and elected to the 13th Politburo.

April 8, 2021: At the 11th session, 14th National Assembly, he was elected as the Minister of Defense.

Thoi Su

New cabinet members unveiled

With the support of the majority of legislators, the National Assembly (NA) on April 8 morning adopted a resolution approving the Prime Minister’s proposal to appoint 12 new ministers and Government members for the 2016 – 2021 tenure.