Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc handed over a decision signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to approve the election of the new chairman of Ho Chi Minh City at a ceremony on Thursday morning.

Nguyen Thanh Phong has been appointed chairman of the city for the 2011-16 term.

The deputy premier also gave two decisions by the prime minister to appoint Le Van Khoa, head of the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, and Nguyen Thi Thu, chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Confederation, to the vice-chair positions for the same tenure.

Decisions to approve the election of five new members to the People’s Committee were also passed at the ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

Chairman Phong said he felt honored to assume the position and hoped to receive support from the Vietnamese government as well as former city leaders to fulfill the missions assigned by the Party and the people, and to develop Ho Chi Minh City into a center of finance, trade, science and technology, education and training, and others.

Chairman Phong, born on July 18, 1962 in the southern province of Ben Tre, is a high-ranking Vietnamese politician with a PhD in economics.

He joined the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1988 and began his political career in Ho Chi Minh City.

In March this year, the Politburo appointed him to be the deputy secretary of the city’s Party Committee for 2010-15.

Phong won re-election to remain deputy secretary for the 2015-20 term in October.

On December 11, he was announced as the new chairman of the municipal People’s Committee after receiving 85.10 percent of the vote carried out on the final working day of a four-day meeting of the People’s Council, which is the city-level legislature.

Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong (L) is pictured receiving flowers from Vo Van Thuong, standing deputy secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Officials are seen at the ceremony. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!