# Lương Cường

Lương Cường (Vietnamese pronunciation:; born 15 August 1957) is a Vietnamese politician and former army general who is currently serving as the 14th president of Vietnam since October 2024. He also served as the permanent Member of the Secretariat since May 2024 to October 2024 and as director of the general department of politics of the People's Army of Vietnam from April 2016 to June 2024.

## Biography

He was born in Phú Thọ Province on 15 August 1957. He has a bachelor's degree in Party Building and State Administration, and a high level of political theory. During his work, he attended training courses for cadres at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and in China.

### Career

Cường joined the Vietnamese army at the age of 18 in 1975. He fought in the Vietnam War. He became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam in August 1978.
He has been a member of the Politburo since 2021, and a member of the Central Committee since 2011.
Cường was previously vice director of the People's Army of Vietnam General Political Department from 2011 to 2016 where he became the director, and was promoted to the rank of four-star General in 2019.
On 16 May 2024, Cường was assigned by the Politburo to assume the position of Permanent Member of the Secretariat, the fifth-highest ranking position in Vietnam's political system, following the resignation of Trương Thị Mai.

## Presidency (2024–present)

On 26 August 2024, General Secretary Tô Lâm resigned from the presidency shortly after his election as the new general secretary earlier that month following Nguyễn Phú Trọng's death in July. On 21 October, at the eighth session of the 15th National Assembly, Cường was elected to the presidency with 440/440 attending National Assembly delegates in favor (reaching 91.67% of the total number of National Assembly delegates). He was subsequently inaugurated as president, succeeding Tô Lâm.
In his inaugural speech, Cường declared his commitment to maintaining and enhancing high unity and solidarity within the Party; building a clean and strong Socialist rule-of-law state; strengthening national defense and security; and consistently pursuing an independent, self-reliant, peaceful, and friendly foreign policy. On the morning of 22 October 2024, the handover ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace. At the ceremony, Tô Lâm officially handed over the presidential duties to Cường and requested relevant agencies to report specific tasks, review work plans, and coordinate internal and external affairs with the new president.

### Foreign Affairs

On 10 November 2024, Cường arrived in Chile for a three-day visit, his first overseas visit since becoming president. He arrived in Santiago to meet President Gabriel Boric. Before that, he visited the home of the late president Salvador Allende and meet with Allende's family. During the visit, one of the member of Cường's delegation was arrested for sexual assault.
On 13 November, Cường arrived in Lima in Peru to participate in the APEC Summit. He arrived and met Peruvian president Dina Boluarte and was awarded Order of the Sun of Peru. He also met many other world leaders in the summit.

## Rank

* Major General (2005)
* Lieutenant General (2009)
* Colonel General (2014)
* Army General (2019)

## Honours
### National awards

* Military Exploit Order (1st class)
* Military Exploit Order (2nd class)
* Military Exploit Order (3rd class)
* Feat Order (1st class)
* Feat Order (2nd class)
* Feat Order (3rd class)
* Victory Banner Medal
* Fatherland Protection Medal
* Glorious Fighter Medal (1st class)
* Glorious Fighter Medal (2nd class)
* Glorious Fighter Medal (3rd class)
* 40 years of Party membership badge

### Foreign awards

* Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sahametrei (Cambodia, 2019)
* Order of Playa Girón (Cuba, 2022)
* Freedom Medal (2nd class) (Laos, 2019)
* Grand Collar of the Order of the Sun of Peru (Peru, 2024)
* Order of Friendship (Russia, 2021)