Vietnam parliament okays appointment of 4 ministers

The Vietnamese parliament on Tuesday okayed the appointment of four ministers, per Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal.

The four new ministers are Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Science and Technology; Tran Hong Minh, Minister of Construction; Do Duc Duy, Minister of Agriculture and Environment; and Dao Ngoc Dung, Minister of Ethnic and Religion Affairs.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung

Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, was approved by the National Assembly to hold the position of Minister of Science and Technology.

The new Ministry of Science and Technology was established following the merger of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The functions, tasks and apparatus of the press and publishing authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications were transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

One day ago, Huynh Thanh Dat, Minister of Science and Technology, was assigned by the Politburo - the country's highest decision-making body - to be deputy head of the Central Mass Mobilization and Propaganda Committee.

Nguyen Manh Hung is 63 years old. His hometown is the northern province of Bac Ninh. He is a Party Central Committee member for the 12th and 13th tenures.

Hung has a bachelor's degree in electronics and telecommunications in the Soviet Union, a master's degree in telecommunications in Australia, and a master's degree in business administration from the Hanoi-based National Economics University.

Before taking the position of Minister of Information and Communications in 2018, Hung worked for a long time at the Military Electronics and Telecommunications Company - later renamed Viettel, under the Ministry of National Defense.

Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh

Tran Hong Minh, Minister of Transport, was approved by the parliament to become Minister of Construction after the merger of the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport.

The new Ministry of Construction basically inherits the functions and tasks of the two ministries. The functions and tasks of state management in testing road vehicles and issuance of driving licenses were transferred from the Ministry of Transport to the Ministry of Public Security.

On January 25, Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Minister of Construction, was assigned by the Politburo to hold the position of deputy Party chief of Ho Chi Minh City.

Tran Hong Minh, 58, has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in defense work construction, and a doctorate in development of bridges, roads and underground works. His hometown is My Duc district, Hanoi. He is a Party Central Committee member for the 13 tenure and a National Assembly member for the 15th term.

He held many positions in the army before becoming Party chief of Cao Bang province and Minister of Transport.

Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy

Do Duc Duy, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, was okayed by the legislature to hold the position of Minister of Agriculture and Environment.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was established following the merger of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The new ministry basically inherits the functions and tasks of the two ministries and takes over the state management in poverty reduction from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Duy takes on the new position after six months as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

On the same day, Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was elected by the National Assembly as its Vice Chairman.

Do Duc Duy is 55 years old. His hometown is Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province. He has a master's degree in construction. Duy is a Party Central Committee member for the 13th term and a National Assembly member for the 15th tenure.

Duy used to be a construction design engineer, a lecturer at the Hanoi University of Architecture, an official at the Ministry of Construction, Chairman of Yen Bai, and Party chief of this northern province before becoming Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

Minister of Ethnic and Religion Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung

Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung was approved by the National Assembly to be Minister of Ethnic and Religion Affairs.

The Ministry of Ethnic and Religion Affairs was formed on the basis of the Committee for Ethnic Affairs, receiving additional functions, tasks and apparatus related to religion affairs from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs merged with the Ministry of Home Affairs to form the new Ministry of Home Affairs.

Dung is 63 years old. His hometown is the northern province of Ha Nam. Dung has a bachelor's degree in law and a master's degree in public administration. He is a Party Central Committee member for the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th terms and a National Assembly member for the 14th and 15th tenures.

Dung worked for a long time at the Nam Ha provincial Youth Union and the Central Youth Union, then became Party chief of Yen Bai province. He has held the position of Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs since 2016.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh were elected Vice Chairmen of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The National Assembly is currently chaired by Tran Thanh Man, and the six Vice Chairpeople are Nguyen Khac Dinh, Nguyen Duc Hai, Tran Quang Phuong, Nguyen Thi Thanh, Vu Hong Thanh, and Le Minh Hoan.

On the same day, the parliament passed a resolution to elect Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai as Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Economic Committee.

According to the new structure of the National Assembly, the Economic Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee are merged to form the Financial and Economic Committee.