The Minister of National Defence (Defence Minister; Vietnamese: Bộ trưởng Bộ Quốc phòng, lit. 'Minister of the Ministry of National Defence') is the Government of Vietnam member in charge of the Ministry of National Defence. The Minister is responsible for the formal executive management functions of state for defense. By Vietnamese politics' design, the assigned Defence Minister also automatically assumes the positions of Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, member of the Politburo and member of the Council for National Defense and Security, by that the Defence Minister is practically the second-highest leader of the Vietnam People’s Army as well as the Militia and Self-Defence Force, just under the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The current Defence Minister is Army General Phan Văn Giang, since 8 April 2021.
| Minister of National Defence | |
|---|---|
| Bộ trưởng Bộ Quốc phòng | |
 Emblem of Vietnam with the MOD's banner | |
 | |
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Reports to | The President The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The President with CPV Politburo introduction, advice and consent |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Formation | 8 May 1945 |
| First holder | Chu Văn Tấn |
| Deputy | Vice Minister of Defence |
| Website | www.mod.gov.vn |
Chain of command
edit- General Secretary of the Communist Party
- President
- Prime Minister
- Minister of Defence
- Chief of the General Political Department
- Chief of the General Staff
- Deputy Ministers of Defence
Lists of Ministers of Defence
edit| No. [note 1] |
Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Took office | Left office | Rank [note 2] |
Prime Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minister of Defence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945 – 76) | ||||||
| 1 | —
|
Chu Văn Tấn (1909–1984) |
May 8, 1945 | March 1946 | —
|
Ho Chi Minh |
| 2 | 
|
Phan Anh (1912–1989) |
March 1946 | May 11, 1946 | —
| |
| 3 | 
|
Võ Nguyên Giáp (1911–2013) |
May 11, 1946 | May 8, 1947 | —
| |
| 4 | 
|
Tạ Quang Bửu (1910–1986) |
May 8, 1947 | May 8, 1948 | —
| |
| 3 |
|
Võ Nguyên Giáp (1911–2013) |
May 8, 1948 | July 2, 1976 | 5 | |
| Phạm Văn Đồng | ||||||
| 7 | ||||||
| Minister of Defence of the Republic of South Vietnam (1969 – 76) | ||||||
—
|
—
|
Trần Nam Trung (1912–2009) |
June 8, 1969 | July 2, 1976 | —
|
Huỳnh Tấn Phát |
| Minister of Defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976 – present) | ||||||
| 1 |
|
Võ Nguyên Giáp (1911–2013) |
July 2, 1976 | February 1980 | 4 | Phạm Văn Đồng |
| 2 | 
|
Văn Tiến Dũng (1917–2002) |
February 1980 | February 16, 1987 | 6 | |
—
| ||||||
| 3 | 
|
Lê Đức Anh (1920–2019) |
February 16, 1987 | August 8, 1992 | 6 | Phạm Văn Đồng |
| Phạm Hùng | ||||||
| Đỗ Mười | ||||||
| 4 | —
|
Đoàn Khuê (1922–1999) |
August 8, 1992 | December 29, 1997 | 5 | Đỗ Mười |
| Võ Văn Kiệt | ||||||
| 6 | ||||||
| 5 | 
|
Phạm Văn Trà (born 1935) |
December 29, 1997 | June 28, 2006 | 5 | Phan Văn Khải |
| 11 | ||||||
| 6 | 
|
Phùng Quang Thanh (1949-2021) |
June 28, 2006 | April 8, 2016 | 8 | Nguyễn Tấn Dũng |
| 2 | ||||||
| 7 | 
|
Ngô Xuân Lịch (born 1954) |
April 9, 2016 | April 7, 2021 | —
|
Nguyễn Xuân Phúc |
| 6 | ||||||
| 8 | _at_the_Pentagon,_USA_on_September_9,_2024_(cropped).jpg)
|
Phan Văn Giang (born 1960) |
April 8, 2021 | Incumbent | —
|
Phạm Minh Chính |
| 12 | ||||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ These numbers are not official.
- ^ The Central Committee when it convenes for its first session after being elected by a National Party Congress elects the Politburo. The Politburo members are ranked in an official order of precedence every time the body is elected by the Central Committee.[1]
References
edit- ^ Van & Cooper 1983, p. 69.
Bibliography
edit- Van, Canh Nguyen; Cooper, Earle (1983). Vietnam under Communism, 1975–1982. Hoover Press. ISBN 9780817978518.