Vietnam elects police chief Tran Dai Quang as country's new president

Hanoi: Vietnam’s National Assembly has elected the police chief to be the country’s new president, the second-highest post in the country. [caption id=“attachment_2708760” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Vietnam’s new president Tran Dai Quang. AP[/caption] Public Security Minister Tran Dai Quang, 59, took the oath of office Saturday after the vote. He was widely expected to become president after being re-elected to the Politburo, the powerful 19-member committee that effectively rules the country, at the Communist Party Congress in January. At that January meeting, Nguyen Phu Trong was re-elected to the top post of party general secretary. In Vietnam, the president is the head of state and chief commander of the military, while the prime minister — to be chosen next week — oversees the economy. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese parliament on Thursday elected Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan as its chairwoman, making her the first woman to lead the Communist-dominated legislature. Ngan, 61, won 95.5 percent of the votes, the National Assembly said on its website. State media reported that Ngan took the oath of office, vowing to “be completely faithful to the country, people and the Constitution.” Ngan rose from director of the finance department in her home province of Ben Tre in the southern Mekong Delta to vice chairwoman of the assembly five years ago. Her appointment was widely expected when she was re-elected to the powerful Politburo at the Communist Party Congress in January. On Wednesday, the Assembly voted to relieve chairman of the Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung of his duties. Hung, who was not re-elected to the Politburo, should have served out his term when the new legislature meets in July, but officials have said that new leaders selected for the top positions of the ruling Communist Party should be appointed to lead the assembly, state and government.