Vietnam - March 2023

Vietnam’s National Assembly elected Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president on 2 March. He replaces Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who was forced to step down in January in connection with a series of COVID-related corruption scandals. Thuong is currently the youngest member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Politburo and said to be a close ally of party chief Nguyen Phu Trong.

Sources: Australian Strategic Policy Institute, BBC News, The Diplomat