Tran Duc Thang assigned to be acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has assigned Tran Duc Thang, a Party Central Committee member and standing Deputy Chief Inspector of the Government, to be acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment, starting from Thursday.

Thang replaced Do Duc Duy who was warned by the Politburo, the country's highest decision-making body, on Thursday for violations during his tenure as deputy Party chief and Chairman of Yen Bai province.

Duy, a Party Central Committee member and Minister of Agriculture and Environment, was found to have violated Party regulations and State laws in performing duties; breached the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations; and violated rules on Party members' code of conduct and responsibility to set a good example.

His violations "caused serious consequences and bad public opinion and undermined the prestige of the Party organization and the agency where he worked."

The State President had issued a decision to temporarily suspend Do Duc Duy from the position of Minister of Agriculture and Environment for the 2021-2026 term from July 17 until the National Assembly - the country's legislature - considers dismissing him from the position.

Tran Duc Thang was born in 1973. His hometown is Vinh Phuc province, now Phu Tho province. He has a doctorate and is a Party Central Committee member.

Thang used to be deputy director and then director of the Department of Public Asset Management under the Ministry of Finance. In October 2018, he was elected as a member of the Central Inspection Committee. In 2020, he became deputy head of the committee.

At the end of January 2021, Thang was elected as a Party Central Committee member for the 2021-2026 term. One day later, he was elected to the Central Inspection Committee for the 2021-2026 term.

On October 27, 2022, the Politburo announced its decision to transfer Thang, deputy head of the Central Inspection Commission, to hold the position of Party chief of Hai Duong province for the 2020-2025 term.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was established in March 2025, on the basis of merging the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The Politburo on Thursday proposed the Party Central Committee consider disciplining Nguyen Thi Kim Tien for violations committed during her tenure as Minister of Health, causing "very serious consequences".

At a meeting on the same day, after considering a Central Inspection Committee proposal, the Politburo found that Tien, during her tenure as a Party Central Committee member and Minister of Health, had degraded in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle.

Tien breached Party regulations and State laws in performing her duties; committed violations in the work of preventing and combating corruption, waste, and negativity; and violated rules on Party members' code of conduct and responsibility to set a good example.

The above violations were determined to have caused "very serious consequences, creating public outrage and negatively affecting the reputation of the Party organization and the agency where she worked."