Vietnam parliament chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to step down

The Party Central Committee has accepted the resignation of Vuong Dinh Hue, a member of the Poliburo - the country's highest decision-making body, and chairman of the National Assembly.

Hue will also resign from the Party Central Committee, the Party Central Committee Office said in a statement on Friday afternoon after an extraordinary session.

The committee said that Hue was a key leader of the Party and the State, with a good educational background. He started at grassroots level and has since been appointed to hold important leadership positions for the Party and the State.

However, reports from the Central Inspection Committee and other relevant agencies show that Hue violated the Party members' code of conduct and regulations on the responsibility of cadres and Party members to set a good example.

Hue was a member of the Politburo and the Party Central Committee, so he had responsibility as a leader in line with Party regulations and State laws.

His violations and shortcomings "caused bad public opinion, affecting the reputation of the Party, the State, and himself".

Aware of his responsibility to the Party, the State and the people, Hue submitted his resignation, the committee stated.

After the Party Central Committee's Friday extraordinary meeting, the National Assembly - Vietnam's highest legislative body, will carry out a process to dismiss Vuong Dinh Hue.

Four days ago, Pham Thai Ha, 48, deputy head of the National Assembly Office and Hue's assistant, was arrested on charges of abusing his positions and power to influence others for personal gains.

Hue, 67, holds a PhD and doctorate in economics. His hometown is Nghi Xuan commune, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province.

He was a member of the Politburo for the 12th and 13th terms; member of the Party Central Committee from the 10th-13th terms; and a deputy to the National Assembly from the 13th-15th terms.

Hue worked for 22 years as a lecturer and deputy principal at the Hanoi University of Finance and Accounting (now the Academy of Finance), before serving as State Auditor General (2006-2011), Minister of Finance (2011-2013), head of the Central Economic Commission (2012-2016), and deputy prime minister (2016-2020).

In February 2020, he was appointed by the Politburo as chief of the Hanoi Party Committee. In March 2021, he was elected chairman of the National Assembly.