Nguyen Minh Triet

President

Date of Birth: 08/10/1942
Place of Birth: Ben Cát district, Bình Duong province

On his April trip to North Africa, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet ramped up interest in the second Vietnam-Africa forum, set for August 2010. In Algeria and Tunisia, his message was the same: Vietnam is deepening its commitment to market reforms and welcomes foreign investors to tap its low-cost labour market. Both countries are partners of state-owned Petrovietnam – Algeria since 2002 and Tunisia since 2008. Talks in Tunis and Algiers largely concerned increasing ties in oil, trade and agriculture.

As President, Triet plays a largely ceremonial role – influential, but lacking the authority of Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Public Security Minister Le Hong Anh. Triet has become a globe-trotting emissary for an outward-looking Vietnam.

Born 1942 in the Ben Cat district of Binh Duong province, Triet was a mathematics teacher in Saigon before joining the CPV in 1965. His rise through the Central Committee of the People’s Revolutionary Youth Union led him to further training at the Nguyen Ai Quoc Party School (1974-1979), which fosters the political elite. From there, he began his climb up the ranks in Song Be province, becoming party chief in 1992. In 1997, he was appointed to the Politburo and in 2000 became party head of Ho Chi Minh City, a post he retained until elected President in 2006.

Both as leader of Ho Chi Minh City and now as President, Triet has campaigned against corruption and organised crime. Like its Chinese counterpart, the CPV has staked its legitimacy on its ability to bring development and clean government. Still, activists see political freedoms lagging behind economic progress.