New president of Vietnam nominated by Communist Party: Report

The Vietnamese Communist Party has nominated Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president, two party sources told the Reuters news agency, following the forced resignation in January of his predecessor as part of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in the country.

The government in a statement on Wednesday said the party’s Central Committee had agreed on a nomination for president but did not name the candidate.

Thuong, 52, is the youngest member of the party’s 16-member Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body, and is widely regarded as being close to the Communist Party of Vietnam’s General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s most powerful figure.

Thuong currently holds the post of secretary of the party’s Central Committee, which is already one of the highest-ranking positions in the country.