Ha Giang province’s Party Secretary Dang Quoc Khanh was appointed by the Vietnamese National Assembly on Monday as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment for the term 2021-2026.
Khanh succeeds Minister Tran Hong Ha, who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in January this year. The National Assembly had let Ha leave his ministerial position on the same day.
Khanh, the new environment minister, and Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi are the two youngest members of the incumbent government. They are both 47.
Khanh holds a Ph.D. degree in urban and construction management. He is a civil and industrial construction engineer, alternate member of the 12th Party Central Committee; member of the 13th Party Central Committee; and member in the 14th and 15th National Assembly.
Khanh started his career in 1999 as an appraisal expert at Ha Tinh province's Department of Construction. He then held many positions in Ha Tinh, including director of the Department of Construction, Party secretary of Nghi Xuan District, and vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee. In July 2019, he was appointed by Politburo, the Communist Party's premier decision-making body, as secretary of Ha Giang province’s Party Committee.
Khanh is a son of Dang Duy Bau, who served as Party secretary and chairman of the People's Council in Ha Tinh in the 1996-2005 period.