Acting president of Việt Nam Võ Thị Ánh Xuân. —VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Võ Thị Ánh Xuân will be acting State president until the National Assembly (NA) elects a replacement for Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, it was announced Wednesday. 

The decision was made in accordance with the 2013 Constitution, which stipulates that in case of vacancy of the presidency, the vice president shall serve as acting president until a new president is elected by the NA.

At the third extraordinary session of the 15-tenure on Wednesday, the assembly passed a resolution to remove Nguyễn Xuân Phúc from the position of President and NA deputy.

The NA Standing Committee’s report presented at the meeting said that Nguyễn Xuân Phúc was entrusted to hold multiple important leadership roles in the Party and the State.

As the prime minister for the 2016-21 term, he had significant efforts in the country’s COVID-19 prevention and control with important achievements.

However, he took the political responsibility of the leader when multiple officials, including two prime ministers and three ministers, were involved in violations and shortcomings that resulted in serious consequences. 

The two former deputy prime ministers, Phạm Bình Minh and Vũ Đức Đam, have resigned from their positions, while former health minister Nguyễn Thanh Long, former science and technology minister Chu Ngọc Anh and other officials face criminal prosecution.

Nguyễn Xuân Phúc had previously submitted a resignation letter to be relieved from the Politburo and Party Central Committee membership, as well as the chairman position of the National Defence and Security Council for the 2021-26 term. 

Võ Thị Ánh Xuân, born in 1970 in the southern province of An Giang, holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry Pedagogy and a master’s in Public Management. 

She was a member of the 12th and 13th Party Central Committee, and a NA deputy in its 14th and 15th tenure. 

Xuân assumed the position of Việt Nam’s Vice President in April 2021, and was re-elected for the 2021-26 term in July the same year.

She was a teacher at Mỹ Thới High School in An Giang Province before working at the provincial Party Committee office from 1996 to 2001. 

Xuân also held the positions of the Vice Chairperson of An Giang provincial People’s Committee for the 2011-16, and secretary of the provincial Party Committee for the terms 2015-2020. — VNS