Lương Cường

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Lương. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Cường.

His Excellency General Lương Cường
Cường in 2024
14th President of Vietnam
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 October 2024
Prime Minister	Phạm Minh Chính
Vice President	Võ Thị Ánh Xuân
Preceded by	Tô Lâm
Permanent Member of the Secretariat
In office 16 May 2024 – 25 October 2024
General Secretary	Nguyễn Phú Trọng Tô Lâm
Preceded by	Trương Thị Mai
Succeeded by	Trần Cẩm Tú
Director of the General Department of Politics of the People's Army of Vietnam
In office 15 April 2016 – 3 June 2024
President	See list Trần Đại Quang Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (acting) Nguyễn Phú Trọng Nguyễn Xuân Phúc Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (acting) Võ Văn Thưởng Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (acting) Tô Lâm
Preceded by	Ngô Xuân Lịch
Succeeded by	Trịnh Văn Quyết
Personal details
Born	(1957-08-15) 15 August 1957 (age 67) Việt Trì, Phú Thọ, North Vietnam
Political party	Communist Party of Vietnam
Spouse	Nguyễn Thị Minh Nguyệt
Children	2
Military service
Allegiance	Communist Party of Vietnam
Branch/service	Vietnam People's Army
Years of service	1975–2024
Rank	Army general
Commands	Vietnam People's Army
Battles/wars	Cambodian-Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War

Lương Cường [lɨəŋ˧ kɨəŋ˨˩] (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.^[1][2] He also served as the permanent Member of the Secretariat since May 2024 to October 2024^[3] and as director of the general department of politics of the People's Army of Vietnam from April 2016 to June 2024.^[4]

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.^[5] He became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam in August 1978.^[6][7]

He has been a member of the Politburo since 2021, and a member of the Central Committee since 2011.^[8]

Cường, then-Director of the General Department of Politics of the People's Army of Vietnam with then-Indian defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a visit to New Delhi, India, 13 November 2017

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.^[9][10][11]

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)

Cường taking the oath of office, 21 October 2024

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.^[12] 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).^[13][14][15] He was subsequently inaugurated as president, succeeding Tô Lâm.^[16][17]

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.^[18][19][20] On the morning of 22 October 2024, the handover ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace.^[21] 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.^[22][23][24]

Foreign Affairs

Cường with Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba in the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, 16 November 2024

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.^[25][26][27]

On 13 November, Cường arrived in Lima in Peru to participate in the APEC Summit. He arrived and meet Peruvian president Dina Boluarte and was awarded Order of the Sun of Peru. He also meet many other world leaders in the summit.^[28]

Rank

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

Honours

National awards

• Military Exploit Order (1st class)^[29]
• Military Exploit Order (2nd class)^[29]
• Military Exploit Order (3rd class)^[29]
• Feat Order (1st class)^[29]
• Feat Order (2nd class)^[29]
• Feat Order (3rd class)^[29]
• Victory Banner Medal^[29]
• Fatherland Protection Medal^[29]
• Glorious Fighter Medal (1st class)^[29]
• Glorious Fighter Medal (2nd class)^[29]
• Glorious Fighter Medal (3rd class)^[29]
• 40 years of Party membership badge^[30]

Foreign awards

• Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sahametrei (Cambodia, 2019)^[31]

• Order of Playa Girón (Cuba, 2022)^[32]

• Freedom Medal (2nd class) (Laos, 2019)^[33]

• Grand Collar of the Order of the Sun of Peru (Peru, 2024)^[34]

• Order of Friendship (Russia, 2021)^[35]

References

1. Trí, Dân (2024-10-21). "Ông Lương Cường giữ chức Chủ tịch nước". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-10-23.
2. "The career of General Luong Cuong - Standing member of the Secretariat". Vietnam.vn. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
3. "General Luong Cuong holds the position of Permanent Secretary of the Secretariat". chinhphu.vn.
4. "General Luong Cuong became Director of the General Department of Politics".
5. Firn, Mike (21 October 2024). "Vietnam's parliament names Luong Cuong president". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
6. "Raúl receives People's Army of Vietnam Political General". en.granma.cu. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
7. "Việt Nam, Cuba intensify friendship between armed forces". vietnamnews.vn. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
8. "Vietnam appoints army general as new president after months of turmoil". Associated Press. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
9. "Luong Cuong was promoted to General by President Nguyen Phu Trong". 29 January 2019.
10. Việt, Người (2019-01-30). "Phong đại tướng cho hai tướng công an, quân đội". Nguoi Viet Online. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
11. VietTimes.vn (2019-01-29). "Việt Nam chính thức có thêm 2 Đại tướng: ông Tô Lâm và ông Lương Cường". VietTimes (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2019-02-09.
12. "Vietnam Party Chief Lam Relinquishes Presidency Amid Shuffle". Bloomberg. 27 August 2024.
13. "Đồng chí Lương Cường được Quốc hội bầu làm Chủ tịch nước". Trang tin Điện tử Đảng bộ thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
14. Hải Giang (2024-10-21). "Đồng chí Lương Cường, Ủy viên Bộ Chính trị, Thường trực Ban Bí thư được bầu làm Chủ tịch nước". baochinhphu.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-11-08.
15. "Quốc hội bầu Đại tướng Lương Cường giữ chức Chủ tịch nước". Báo điện tử Tiền Phong (in Vietnamese). 2024-10-21. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
16. "Lương Cường được bầu làm chủ tịch nước Việt Nam thay Tô Lâm". Voice of America (in Vietnamese). 2024-10-21. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
17. "Chủ tịch nước Tô Lâm làm tổng bí thư". BBC News Tiếng Việt (in Vietnamese). 2024-08-03. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
18. "Đồng chí Lương Cường được bầu giữ chức vụ Chủ tịch nước". www.qdnd.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-11-08.
19. Trí, Nguyễn (2024-10-21). "33Win". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-11-08.
20. Trí, Dân (2024-10-21). "Tân Chủ tịch nước: "Tôi tuyệt nhiên không mơ làm đến cấp này, chức kia"". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-11-08.
21. "Tổ chức trọng thể lễ bàn giao công tác của Chủ tịch nước". laodong.vn. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
22. "Bàn giao công tác giữa Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm và Chủ tịch nước Lương Cường". Báo Nhân Dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). 2024-10-22. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
23. Trí, Dân (2024-10-22). "Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm và Chủ tịch nước Lương Cường bàn giao công tác". Báo điện tử Dân Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-11-08.
24. "Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm tin tưởng Chủ tịch nước Lương Cường sẽ nhanh chóng tiếp cận công việc mới, có những chỉ đạo sâu sát". Tạp chí Kinh tế và Dự báo - Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-11-08.
25. "President Luong Cuong arrives in Santiago, starting official visit to Chile". Hai Duong. 10 November 2024.
26. "Member of Vietnam president's delegation arrested in Chile for 'sexual assault'". Radio Free Asia. 12 November 2024.
27. "State President Lương Cường visits late Chilean President's family". Vietnam News. 10 November 2024.
28. "President Luong Cuong honored with 'The Sun of Peru' Order". Baochinhphu.vn. 14 November 2024.
29. "Đại tướng Lương Cường làm Thường trực Ban Bí thư". VnExpress. 2024-05-16. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
30. "Trao Huy hiệu 40 năm tuổi Đảng cho Thượng tướng Lương Cường". Tiền Phong. 2018-08-30. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
31. "Lễ trao tặng Huân chương của Nhà nước Việt Nam, Lào, Campuchia". Biên phòng. 2019-12-20. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
32. "Vietnamese army officer honoured with Cuban orders". Voice of Vietnam. 2022-12-07. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
33. "Trao tặng Huân chương của Nhà nước Việt Nam, Nhà nước Lào và Vương quốc Campuchia". Quân đội nhân dân. 2019-12-20. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
34. "State President of Vietnam honoured with "The Sun of Peru" Order". Vietnam+. 2019-11-14. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
35. "Russia's friendship order conferred on Vietnamese diplomat, military officials". Vietnam+. 2021-03-30. Retrieved November 26, 2024.

Political offices
Preceded by Tô Lâm	President of Vietnam 2024–present	Incumbent