# Vice President of Vietnam

The vice president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Phó Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam), known as the deputy chairman of the Council of State (Phó Chủ tịch Hội đồng Nhà nước) from 1981 to 1992, is the deputy head of state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The vice president is appointed on the recommendation of the president to the National Assembly. The president can also recommend the vice president's dismissal and resignation from office. Upon the president's recommendation, the vice president has to be approved by the National Assembly. The main duty of a vice president is to help the president in discharging his duties—in certain cases, the vice president can be empowered by the president to replace him in the discharge of some of his duties. If the president cannot discharge his duties, the vice president becomes acting president (Tôn Đức Thắng, Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh and Võ Thị Ánh Xuân were acting presidents for a short period). In case of vacancy, the vice president will remain acting president until the National Assembly elects a new president.
While the office of vice president was first mentioned in the 1946 constitution, Tôn Đức Thắng became the first vice president of Vietnam in 1960. The 1980 constitution renamed the office of vice president to Deputy Chairman of the Council of State. Unlike the 1946, 1959 and the present constitution, the 1980 constitution did not mention what kind of authority the office of vice president had—for instance, it was not mentioned if a vice president would take the responsibilities of acting head of state if the head of state was incapacitated. In 1992, the name for the post of deputy chairman of the Council of State was reverted to its original name; vice president. South Vietnam, under its 1967 constitution, also had a vice-president. Since 1992, the office of vice president has traditionally been occupied by a woman, with two of them becoming acting president in the last decade.

## Vice presidents of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1960–1976)

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | President |
| 1 | Nguyễn Hải Thần (1869–1959) | 1945 | 1946 | Hồ Chí Minh (1945–1969) |
| 2 | Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) | 1960 | 23 September 1969 | Hồ Chí Minh (1945–1969) |
| 3 | Nguyễn Lương Bằng (1904–1979) | 22 September 1969 | 2 July 1976 | Tôn Đức Thắng (1969–1976) |
| 4 | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996) | 25 April 1976 | 2 July 1976 | Tôn Đức Thắng (1976–1980) |

## Vice presidents of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)
### Vice presidents (1976–1981)

| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | President |
| – | | Nguyễn Lương Bằng (1904–1979) | 2 July 1976 | 20 July 1979 | Tôn Đức Thắng (1976–1980) |
| – | | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996) | 2 July 1976 | 4 July 1981 | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1980–1981) |

### Deputy chairmen of the Council of State (1981–1992)

| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Chairman of Council State |
| 4 | | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996) | 4 July 1981 | 19 July 1992 | Trường Chinh (1981–1987) Võ Chí Công (1987–1992) |
| 5 | — | Chu Huy Mân (1913–2006) | 4 July 1981 | December 1986 | Trường Chinh (1981–1987) |
| 6 | | Xuân Thủy (1912–1985) | 4 July 1981 | July 1982 | Trường Chinh (1981–1987) |
| 7 | | Lê Thanh Nghị (1911–1989) | July 1982 | December 1986 | Trường Chinh (1981–1987) |
| 8 | — | Huỳnh Tấn Phát (1913–1989) | 1982 | 1989 | Trường Chinh (1981–1987) Võ Chí Công (1987–1992) |
| 9 | | Nguyễn Quyết (1922–2024) | 19 April 1987 | 19 July 1992 | Võ Chí Công (1987–1992) |
| 10 | — | Đàm Quang Trung (1921–1995) | 19 April 1987 | 19 July 1992 | Võ Chí Công (1987–1992) |
| 11 | — | Lê Quang Đạo (1921–1999) | 19 April 1987 | 19 July 1992 | Võ Chí Công (1987–1992) |
| 12 | — | Major General Nguyễn Thị Định (1920–1992) | 19 April 1987 | 19 July 1992 | Võ Chí Công (1987–1992) |

### Vice presidents (1992–present)

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | President |
| 13 | Nguyễn Thị Bình (born 1927) | 8 October 1992 | 12 August 2002 | Lê Đức Anh (1992–1997) Trần Đức Lương (1997–2006) |
| 14 | Trương Mỹ Hoa (born 1945) | 12 August 2002 | 25 July 2007 | Trần Đức Lương (1997–2006) Nguyễn Minh Triết (2006–2011) |
| 15 | Nguyễn Thị Doan (born 1951) | 25 July 2007 | 8 April 2016 | Nguyễn Minh Triết (2006–2011) Trương Tấn Sang (2011–2016) |
| 16 | Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (born 1959) | 8 April 2016 | 6 April 2021 (acting president 21 September – 23 October 2018) | Trần Đại Quang (2016–2018) Nguyễn Phú Trọng (2018–2021) |
| 17 | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (born 1970) | 6 April 2021 | Incumbent (acting president 18 January 2023 – 2 March 2023 21 March 2024 – 22 May 2024) | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (2021–2023) Võ Văn Thưởng (2023–2024) Tô Lâm (2024) |