HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam's parliament on Monday approved another major reshuffle of senior positions in the government of the Communist-run country as it prepares to elect a new president in October, the third in less than two years.
Previously known for its political stability, Vietnam has seen repeated changes at the top in the last two years or so, culminating earlier in August in the appointment of state president To Lam as party chief, the most powerful job in the country.
On Monday, the National Assembly's general secretary Bui Van Cuong said parliament would elect a new state president in October during a regular session, ending weeks of speculation about when and if Lam would relinquish the state presidency.
Cuong's remarks came at the end of an extraordinary meeting of legislators on Monday which gathered in Hanoi to discuss personnel issues.
At the meeting, parliament appointed three new deputy prime ministers, a new environment minister and a new justice minister, in a fresh shake-up following the exit of two deputy prime ministers, one of whom had been disciplined by the party.
The new deputy prime ministers approved by the parliament, which usually confirms decisions made earlier by the party, were foreign minister Bui Thanh Son, finance minister Ho Duc Phoc and chief justice Nguyen Hoa Binh.
The finance minister and foreign minister will retain those portfolios, on an interim basis in the case of Phoc but on a permanent one in Son's case.
The two deputies whose terms were officially ended were Le Minh Khai, who had been disciplined by the Politburo elite body this month "for violating party rules", and Tran Luu Quang, who was appointed as head of the Communist Party's Central Economic Committee last week.
Over the last two years, two state presidents and a parliament chairman stepped down over accusations of "wrongdoing", and hundreds of top figures quit their jobs, including members of the Politburo, amid a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that critics said was used by party factions to eliminate rivals.
After the latest appointments there are now five deputy prime ministers working under Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Parliament also appointed Nguyen Hai Ninh as justice minister and Do Duc Duy as environment minister. Both had been provincial party chiefs.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair and Hugh Lawson) - Reuters
