Vietnam's National Assembly elects Vo Van Thuong as new president

Vietnam's National Assembly on Thursday approved Vo Van Thuong as the country's new president at an extraordinary session in Hanoi.
Thuong, 53, currently the standing member of the ruling Communist Party's Secretariat, won a majority vote from parliamentary members to become Vietnam's head of state for the remainder of the 2021-2026 term after being selected by the ruling party's Central Committee on Wednesday.
Thuong was subsequently sworn in in a ceremony broadcast live on national radio and television.
The election took place after the National Assembly dismissed former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 18 after coronavirus-related scandals embroiled numerous high-profile politicians in the country.
Phuc was deemed responsible for corrupted behaviour by officials serving under him during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Carl Thayer, a veteran Vietnam watcher at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said Thuong is considered to be "free of the taint of criminal corruption because he will have been thoroughly vetted."
Born in Vinh Long province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, Thuong holds a master's degree in philosophy, and previously served as deputy party chief of Ho Chi Minh City.
Thuong, who in 2016 joined the Politburo of the Vietnamese Communist Party becoming its youngest member, is relatively new to foreign policy, having previously focused on educating and training party members in ideology, culture, ethics and morality at the grassroots level and beyond.