After making a personal request to the Central Party Committee on Tuesday, Nguyen Xuan Phuc stepped down from his position as Vietnam’s President, as well as a member of the Politburo and the committee.
A statement from an extraordinary meeting of the committee says that Mr. Phuc was a key leader of the Communist Party and the State and was trusted and assigned to many important positions by the committee and the Politburo in the past.
VNExpress reports that as the Prime Minister of Vietnam during the 2016-2021 period, Mr. Phuc was responsible for leading efforts in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic which gained important results.
However, the released statement adds, that as the leader, he was responsible for letting several officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers, commit violations that caused severe consequences.
During his tenure, two deputy prime ministers resigned from their positions, while two ministers and several other officials are facing criminal charges. Following these events, as someone who is well aware of his responsibilities, Mr. Phuc decided to resign from his positions and retire.
As per his request and abiding by current Party and State’s regulations, the Central Party Committee permitted to let Mr. Phuc resign from his state leader and Party positions, and as chairman of the Council for National Defense and Security, of the 2021-2026 term.
At 69, Mr. Phuc was a member of the Central Party Committee, the Politburo and the National Assembly for numerous terms. He was also the chairman of the Quang Nam Province People’s Committee from 1997 to 2006.
He was appointed head of the Government Office in 2006 and deputy prime minister in 2011, before becoming the Prime Minister of Vietnam five years later. He was elected as the President in April 2021 and his tenure has come to an end in less than two years.
It is currently unclear as to who would replace his position as President.
