# List of presidents of Socialist Vietnam

This is a list of president of the Socialist Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) from the establishment of the position to the present. Vietnam is a single-party state and the president is generally considered to hold the second highest position in the political system, after the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In its current incarnation the president is the head of state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as well as the head of government in tandem with prime minister. The president represents Vietnam internally and externally, supervises the work as well as preserving the stability of the national governmental system and safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of the country. The president appoints prime minister, vice-presidents, ministers and other officials with the consent of the National Assembly. The head of state is the de jure commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and chairman of the Council for Defence and Security, an organ of the National Assembly. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, with the Communist Party of Vietnam being the sole party allowed by the constitution, all the presidents of the Democratic Republic and its successor Socialist Republic have been members of the party while holding office. The current president is Lương Cường since 21 October 2024.
The modern office of the president of the Socialist Republic traces its lineage back to Hồ Chí Minh, the first president of the North Vietnam. The office has no connection, or lineage, to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, headed by Comunist Nguyễn Hữu Thọ. There have been 14 presidents.
Hồ Chí Minh, the first president, became president in 1945 after Vietnam's declaration of independence. Tô Lâm is the shortest-serving president, with 152 days (from May 22, 2024 to October 21, 2024) if not counting interim presidents. Hồ Chí Minh had the longest time as president, with 24 years from 1945 to his death in 1969. He was also the president who served the most terms with 4 terms (1945, 1946, 1960, 1964). Meanwhile, Tôn Đức Thắng was also the president in office for 4 terms (1969, 1971, 1975, 1976). The Constitution stipulates that the term of office of the president follows the term of the National Assembly (usually 5 years) and there is no limit to the number of re-elections. However, most presidents serve for one term. The president with the longest interim term is Nguyễn Hữu Thọ with 1 year and 96 days, longer than the official President Võ Văn Thưởng with only 1 year 19 days.

## Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam, 1945–1976)
### Status

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of Office | Term of Office | Term of Office | Political Party |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Political Party |
| President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945–1975) |||||||
| 1 | | Hồ Chí Minh (1890–1969) | 2 September 1945 | 2 September 1969 (Died in office) | 24 years | Indochinese Communist Party/ Worker's Party of Vietnam |
| — | | Huỳnh Thúc Kháng (1876–1947) | 29 May 1946 | 21 October 1946 | 145 days | Independent |
| — | | Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) | 2 September 1969 | 23 September 1969 | 21 days | Worker's Party of Vietnam |
| 2 | | Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) | 23 September 1969 | 2 July 1976 | 6 years, 283 days | Worker's Party of Vietnam |

## Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)
### Status

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of Office | Term of Office | Term of Office | Election | Political Party |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Election | Political Party |
| President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ||||||||
| (2) | | Tôn Đức Thắng (1888–1980) | 2 July 1976 | 30 March 1980 $^{(Diedinoffice)}$ | 3 years, 272 days | 1976 | Worker's Party/ Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996) | 30 March 1980 | 4 July 1981 | 1 year, 96 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| Chairman of the Council of State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ||||||||
| 3 | | Trường Chinh (1907–1988) | 4 July 1981 | 18 June 1987 | 5 years, 349 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 4 | | Võ Chí Công (1912–2011) | 18 June 1987 | 22 September 1992 | 5 years, 96 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ||||||||
| 5 | | Lê Đức Anh (1920–2019) | 23 September 1992 | 24 September 1997 | 5 years, 1 day | 1992 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 6 | | Trần Đức Lương (1937–) | 24 September 1997 | 27 June 2006 $^{(Resignedfromoffice)}$ | 8 years, 276 days | 1997 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 7 | | Nguyễn Minh Triết (1942–) | 27 June 2006 | 25 July 2011 | 5 years, 28 days | 2006 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 8 | | Trương Tấn Sang (1949–) | 25 July 2011 | 2 April 2016 | 4 years, 252 days | 2011 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 9 | | Trần Đại Quang (1956–2018) | 2 April 2016 | 21 September 2018 $^{(Diedinoffice)}$ | 2 years, 172 days | 2016 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | | Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (1959–) | 21 September 2018 | 23 October 2018 | 32 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 10 | | Nguyễn Phú Trọng (1944–2024) | 23 October 2018 | 5 April 2021 | 2 years, 164 days | 2018 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 11 | | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (1954–) | 5 April 2021 | 18 January 2023 $^{(Resignedfromoffice)}$ | 1 year, 288 days | 2021 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (1970–) | 18 January 2023 | 2 March 2023 | 43 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 12 | | Võ Văn Thưởng (1970–) | 2 March 2023 | 21 March 2024 $^{(Resignedfromoffice)}$ | 1 year, 19 days | 2023 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| — | | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (1970–) | 21 March 2024 | 22 May 2024 | 62 days | — | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 13 | | Tô Lâm (1957–) | 22 May 2024 | 21 October 2024 | 152 days | May 2024 | Communist Party of Vietnam |
| 14 | | Lương Cường (1957–) | 21 October 2024 | Incumbent | 144 days | October 2024 | Communist Party of Vietnam |

## List of presidents by length of tenure

| Rank | No. | Name | Party | Length of term |
| 1 | 1 | Hồ Chí Minh | ICP/WPV | 24 years |
| 2 | 2 | Tôn Đức Thắng | WPV/CPV | 10 years, 210 days |
| 3 | 6 | Trần Đức Lương | CPV | 8 years, 276 days |
| 4 | 3 | Trường Chinh | CPV | 5 years, 349 days |
| 5 | 4 | Võ Chí Công | CPV | 5 years, 97 days |
| 6 | 7 | Nguyễn Minh Triết | CPV | 5 years, 28 days |
| 7 | 5 | Lê Đức Anh | CPV | 5 years |
| 8 | 8 | Trương Tấn Sang | CPV | 4 years, 252 days |
| 9 | 9 | Trần Đại Quang | CPV | 2 years, 172 days |
| 10 | 10 | Nguyễn Phú Trọng | CPV | 2 years, 164 days |
| 11 | 11 | Nguyễn Xuân Phúc | CPV | 1 year, 288 days |
| 12 | — | Nguyễn Hữu Thọ | CPV | 1 year, 96 days |
| 13 | 12 | Võ Văn Thưởng | CPV | 1 year, 18 days |
| 14 | 13 | Tô Lâm | CPV | 152 days |
| 15 | 16 | Lương Cường | CPV | 144 days |
| 16 | — | Huỳnh Thúc Kháng | None | 145 days |
| 17 | — | Võ Thị Ánh Xuân | CPV | 105 days |
| 18 | — | Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh | CPV | 32 days |