This is a list of state presidents () of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam () and its predecessor state, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (), from the establishment of the position in 1946 to the present.
Vietnam is a one-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 officeholder 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-president, 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 but one presidents of the Democratic Republic and its successor Socialist Republic have been members of the party (or its predecessors) while holding office.
The modern office of the president of the Socialist Republic traces its lineage back to Hồ Chí Minh, the first president of the Democratic Republic. The office has no connection, or lineage, to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, headed by National Liberation Front revolutionary Nguyễn Hữu Thọ. There have been 14 presidents since the office's establishment in 1945. The current president is Tô Lâm, who is in office since 7 April 2026.
Hồ Chí Minh, the first officeholder, became president in 1945 after Vietnam's declaration of independence. Tô Lâm is the shortest-serving president, in office for 152 days during his first term (22 May — 21 October 2024), if not counting interim presidents. The longest-serving president was Hồ Chí Minh, with 24 years from 1945 to his death in 1969. He also served the most terms in office (1945, 1946, 1960, 1964) — tied with Tôn Đức Thắng, who was also in office for 4 terms (1969, 1971, 1975, 1976). The Constitution stipulates that the term of office of the president shall follow the term of the National Assembly (usually five 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 term of official President Võ Văn Thưởng, which lasted 1 year and 19 days.
Democratic Republic (1945–1976)
Status
Portrait Name Term of Office Political PartyTook officeLeft officeTime in office 1 Hồ Chí Minh January 1946 2 September 1969(Died in office) 23 years, 7 months IndochineseCommunist Party/Worker's Party of Vietnam — Huỳnh Thúc Kháng 29 May 1946 21 October 1946 Independent — Tôn Đức Thắng 2 September 1969 23 September 1969 Worker's Party of Vietnam 2 23 September 1969 2 July 1976
Socialist Republic (1976–present)
Status
Portrait Name Term of OfficeElection Political PartyTook officeLeft officeTime in office (2) Tôn Đức Thắng 2 July 1976 30 March 1980(Died in office) 1976 Worker's Party/Communist Party of Vietnam — Nguyễn Hữu Thọ 30 March 1980 4 July 1981 — Communist Party of Vietnam 3 Trường Chinh 4 July 1981 18 June 1987 — Communist Party of Vietnam 4 Võ Chí Công 18 June 1987 22 September 1992 — Communist Party of Vietnam 5 Lê Đức Anh 23 September 1992 24 September 1997 1992 Communist Party of Vietnam 6 Trần Đức Lương 24 September 1997 27 June 2006(resigned from office) 1997 Communist Party of Vietnam 7 Nguyễn Minh Triết 27 June 2006 25 July 2011 2006 Communist Party of Vietnam 8 Trương Tấn Sang 25 July 2011 2 April 2016 2011 Communist Party of Vietnam 9 Trần Đại Quang 2 April 2016 21 September 2018(died in office) 2016 Communist Party of Vietnam — Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh 21 September 2018 23 October 2018 — Communist Party of Vietnam 10Nguyễn Phú Trọng 23 October 2018 5 April 2021 2018 Communist Party of Vietnam 11Nguyễn Xuân Phúc5 April 202118 January 2023(resigned from office)2021Communist Party of Vietnam — Võ Thị Ánh Xuân 18 January 2023 2 March 2023 — Communist Party of Vietnam 12 Võ Văn Thưởng 2 March 2023 21 March 2024(resigned from office) 2023 Communist Party of Vietnam — Võ Thị Ánh Xuân 21 March 2024 22 May 2024 — Communist Party of Vietnam 13Tô Lâm22 May 202421 October 2024(resigned from office)May 2024Communist Party of Vietnam 14Lương Cường21 October 20247 April 2026 October 2024Communist Party of Vietnam(13)Tô Lâm7 April 2026Incumbent2026Communist Party of Vietnam
Timeline
List of presidents by length of tenure Rank No. Name Party Length of term 11 Hồ Chí Minh ICP/WPV 24 years 22 Tôn Đức Thắng WPV/CPV 10 years, 210 days 36 Trần Đức Lương CPV 8 years, 276 days 43 Trường Chinh CPV 5 years, 349 days 54 Võ Chí Công CPV 5 years, 97 days 67 Nguyễn Minh Triết CPV 5 years, 28 days 75 Lê Đức Anh CPV 5 years 88 Trương Tấn Sang CPV 4 years, 252 days 99 Trần Đại Quang CPV 2 years, 172 days 1010 Nguyễn Phú Trọng CPV 1114Lương CườngCPV 12 11 Nguyễn Xuân Phúc CPV 13 — Nguyễn Hữu Thọ CPV 1 year, 96 days 14 12 Võ Văn Thưởng CPV 1513Tô LâmCPV 16 — Huỳnh Thúc Kháng None 145 days 17 — Võ Thị Ánh Xuân CPV105 days 18 — Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh CPV 32 days
See also List of prime ministers of Vietnam List of heads of state of Vietnam List of spouses of Vietnamese presidents Leaders of South Vietnam
Notes
a. These numbers are official. The "—" denotes acting head of state. The first column shows how many presidents there have been in Vietnamese history, while the second show how many presidents there was in that state. b. Concurrently served as the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Vietnam. c. Concurrently served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 14 July to 18 December 1986. d. Concurrently served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. e. Concurrently serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since 3 August 2024. f. Except Huỳnh Thúc Kháng, an independent who served as Acting President from May to October 1946. g. Also known as North Vietnam following the 1954 Geneva Conference.
References
Bibliography