Vietnam's president resigned

Vietnamese President Nguyen Suan Phuc resigned today, after a series of corruption cases in which high-ranking officials were involved.

The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported that Phuc had resigned at a meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee, with the text of the statement indicating that he had been forced to step down.

After holding positions at the provincial level for several decades, Fook moved to state positions in 2006. He became a member of the Politburo, the highest body of the Communist Party, in 2011, and was prime minister from 2016 to 2021, when the parliament elected him head of state.

In the announcement of his resignation, Fuk was praised for the efforts he undertook as prime minister in the fight against the corona virus pandemic, but it was also stated that he was politically responsible for serious scandals involving his former subordinates, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers.

In Vietnam, a country of about 100 million people, the office of the president is largely ceremonial, and the most powerful position is that of General Secretary of the Communist Party, where Nguyen Fu Trong will begin his third five-year term in 2021. The main feature of his rule is a long-lasting anti-corruption campaign.