Environment minister, Hai Phong Party chief become deputy prime ministers

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha and Secretary of Hai Phong city's Party Committee Tran Luu Quang have become Vietnam's new deputy prime ministers on Thursday following votes at the National Assembly.

The appointments are for the 2021-2026 term. Prior to this voting, the legislative body approved the dismissal of two deputy prime ministers Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam.

Vietnam now has four deputy prime ministers, with the other two being Le Minh Khai and Le Van Thanh.

Tran Hong Ha, 59, is from the central province of Ha Tinh. He has a bachelor's degree in mining technology and a doctor's degree in mining exploitation and management.

He is an alternate member of the 11th Party Central Committee, a member of the Party Central Committee in the 12th and 13th terms, and a delegate of the 14th National Assembly.

In July 2008, he held the position of Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. Six months later, he became Deputy Secretary of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province's Party Committee.

After returning to the position of Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment in April 2016, he has held the position of Minister of Natural Resources and Environment until now.

Tran Luu Quang, 55, is from Tay Ninh province near Ho Chi Minh City. He has a master's degree in public administration and mechanical engineering. He is an alternate member of the 11th Party Central Committee, a member of the Party Central Committee in the 12th and 13th terms, and a delegate of the National Assembly in the 14th and 15th terms.

Quang had worked for a long time in Tay Ninh province. In December 2003, he became deputy director of the province's Moc Bai Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board, then deputy director of Tay Ninh's Department of Planning and Investment.

From August 2008, he held the position of chairman of the Trang Bang district People's Committee, secretary of the district's Party Committee, then standing Vice Chairman of Tay Ninh's People's Committee. He was Secretary of Tay Ninh's Party Committee since July 2015.

In February 2019, Quang held the position of Permanent Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City's Party Committee, and was assigned by the Politburo to be Secretary of Hai Phong city's Party Committee from May 2021.

On December 30, the Party Central Committee decided to let Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam resign from their positions.

The committee voted and agreed to let Minh resign from the positions of Politburo member and Party Central Committee member. It also voted and agreed for Dam to resign from the position of Party Central Committee member.

An announcement from the Party Central Committee on December 30 did not mention the reasons behind its decisions.

Previously, on September 27, Nguyen Quang Linh, assistant to Standing Deputy Prime Minister Minh, was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes related to the repatriation of Vietnamese citizens during the pandemic crisis. Linh, 48, was detained by the Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency per the Penal Code.

On December 16, Nguyen Van Trinh, assistant to Deputy PM Dam, was expelled from the Communist Party due to "ideological and political deterioration, and accepting bribes" in the Viet A Covid test kit scam. Trinh was arrested on November 30 for allegedly influencing the Ministry of Health's decision to grant a circulation permit for Viet A Company's Covid-19 test kits.