The Politburo has issued Regulation No. 368, detailing the list of key leadership positions and groups of senior roles within Vietnam’s political system.

Regulation No. 368 replaces Conclusion No. 35 dated May 5, 2022, which previously outlined the equivalent list of leadership roles within the political apparatus from central to grassroots levels.

Top leadership positions of the Party and State now officially include the General Secretary, the President, the Prime Minister, the Chairperson of the National Assembly, and the Standing Member of the Secretariat. Compared to Conclusion No. 35, the new regulation adds the Standing Member of the Secretariat to this list.

High-level leadership positions include members of the Politburo, members of the Secretariat, the President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Chair of the Central Inspection Commission, heads of central Party commissions, the Chief of the Party Central Office, the Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Vice President, the Deputy Prime Ministers, the Vice Chairpersons of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, and the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy. The new regulation adds the Chief of the Party Central Office and the Director of the National Academy of Politics to this list.

Leadership positions under Politburo management

Regulation No. 368 reduces the number of position tiers under Politburo management from three (in Conclusion 35) to two.

Tier 1 includes official members of the Party Central Committee (alternate members are evaluated based on their current assignments and receive entitlements accordingly); Deputy Chairs of the Central Inspection Commission; Deputy heads of central Party commissions; Deputy Chiefs of the Party Central Office (if they are Central Committee members); members of the National Assembly Standing Committee (including Secretary-General, Chief of the Office, Chairpersons of the Ethnic Council and NA Committees); and the State Auditor General.

Other Tier 1 roles include ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies, the Chief of the President’s Office, the Vice President and Secretary-General of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, Vice Presidents of the Front who head central socio-political organizations, the Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan newspaper, and the Editor-in-Chief of Communist Review.

Also included are provincial and municipal Party Secretaries; Deputy Secretaries of the four Party committees under the Central Government (covering Party Central agencies, the Government, the National Assembly, and the Fatherland Front with mass organizations); Deputy Party Secretaries of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (if they are Central Committee members); and the Chairpersons of the People’s Councils and People’s Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Tier 2 includes Deputy Chairs of the Central Inspection Commission (if they are not Central Committee members), Presidents of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, the General Directors of the Vietnam News Agency, the Voice of Vietnam, and Vietnam Television.

Compared to Conclusion No. 35, the new regulation elevates several roles to Tier 1, such as ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, the Chief of the President’s Office, Deputy Secretaries of the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Party Committees (if they are Central Committee members), and the Chairpersons of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City People’s Councils and Committees.

Leadership positions under Secretariat management

For roles under the Secretariat’s management, Regulation No. 368 establishes three tiers.

Tier 1 includes Deputy heads of central Party agencies (who are not Central Committee members), Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Deputy Chief of the President’s Office, members of the Central Inspection Commission, Deputy Chairs of the Ethnic Council and NA Committees, Deputy Chief of the National Assembly Office, Deputy State Auditors General, Deputy Ministers and equivalent ranks, Deputy Editors-in-Chief of Nhan Dan and Communist Review, and Deputy Chairs of the Fatherland Front Central Committee.

Also listed are Deputy heads of central socio-political organizations (such as the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Vietnam Women’s Union, Vietnam Farmers’ Union, Vietnam Veterans’ Association), Deputy Provincial and Municipal Party Secretaries, and Chairpersons of provincial People’s Councils and Committees.

Additionally, Tier 1 includes specialized Deputy Secretaries of the four Party organizations under the Central Government and Presidents of mass organizations assigned by the Party and State, including the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance, the Vietnam Journalists’ Association, the Vietnam Writers’ Association, the Vietnam Red Cross Society, the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association, the Vietnam Bar Federation, and the Vietnam Association of the Elderly.

Also covered are the Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Truth National Political Publishing House, the Directors of Vietnam National University in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, assistants to key Party and State leaders, and the Vice Chair of the Central Theoretical Council.

Tier 2 includes heads of provincial and municipal National Assembly delegations, judges of the Supreme People’s Court, prosecutors of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and assistants to Politburo and Secretariat members.

Tier 3 includes assistants to the President of the Fatherland Front Central Committee, heads of central Party agencies, the Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Vice Chair of the National Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy (if they are not Politburo or Secretariat members), and the Standing Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

Regulation No. 368 also outlines the leadership titles under the management of Party committees, organizations, and heads of agencies or units.

Tran Thuong