Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh

Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh
Name	Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh
Office	Acting President of Vietnam
Term start	21 September 2018
Term end	23 October 2018
Predecessor	Trần Đại Quang
Successor	Nguyễn Phú Trọng
Office1	Vice President of Vietnam
Term start1	8 April 2016
Term end1	21 September 2021
Predecessor1	Nguyễn Thị Doan
Successor1	Võ Thị Ánh Xuân
Birth date	25 December 1959
Birth place	Tuy Hòa, Phú Yên Province, South Vietnam
Party	Communist Party of Vietnam
Alma mater	Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics

Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh

Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh was a Vietnamese politician who served as Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 2016 to 2021 and briefly as Acting President in 2018. A member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, she held provincial and national offices, participating in leadership bodies including the National Assembly (Vietnam) and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Her tenure intersected with major state figures such as Trần Đại Quang, Nguyễn Phú Trọng, and Nguyễn Xuân Phúc during a period of anti-corruption campaigns led by the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption.

Early life and education

Born in Tuy Hòa, Phú Yên Province in 1959, Thịnh came of age in the late period of South Vietnam and the immediate aftermath of the Vietnam War. She studied at regional institutions before attending the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, an academy associated with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and training cadres for positions in bodies such as the Government of Vietnam and provincial People's Committees. Her educational path connected her to networks that included alumni working in Ministry of Home Affairs (Vietnam), Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam), and provincial administrations like People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and People's Committee of Hanoi.

Political career

Thịnh's political career advanced through provincial roles in Phú Yên Province and party structures of the Communist Party of Vietnam. She served in positions linked to the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Council (Vietnam), engaging with counterparts from provinces such as Bình Định, Khánh Hòa, and Đắk Lắk. Elevated to national prominence, she became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, participating in plenums alongside leaders of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and contributing to policy deliberations related to state organs like the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam and the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam. Elected Vice President by the National Assembly (Vietnam) in April 2016, she worked with Presidents including Trần Đại Quang and Nguyễn Phú Trọng, and with prime ministers such as Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and Phạm Minh Chính.

Her tenure in the vice presidency overlapped with national initiatives including anti-corruption drives associated with Nguyễn Phú Trọng and campaigns affecting institutions like the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and Viettel. She interacted with international counterparts through state visits, ceremonial functions, and diplomatic exchanges with leaders from countries such as the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, and members of multilateral forums including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations.

Acting President and presidency functions

Following the death of Trần Đại Quang in September 2018, Thịnh assumed the role of Acting President under constitutional procedures while the National Assembly (Vietnam) prepared to elect a successor. During her interim tenure she performed ceremonial and constitutional duties typically exercised by heads of state: receiving credentials from ambassadors accredited by foreign governments such as Australia, France, and South Korea; presiding over national commemorations that involved ministries like the Ministry of National Defense (Vietnam) and organizations including the Vietnam Fatherland Front; and representing the state in correspondence with foreign heads of state such as the leaders of China and Russia.

Her acting presidency lasted until the election of Nguyễn Phú Trọng as President, an unprecedented consolidation that followed deliberations within the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and votes in the National Assembly (Vietnam). Thịnh's brief exercise of presidential powers highlighted constitutional mechanisms for succession and the interplay between party organs such as the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and state institutions like the Presidency of Vietnam.

Policies and political positions

As Vice President and Acting President, Thịnh's public positions aligned with platforms advanced by the Communist Party of Vietnam leadership, including support for anti-corruption reforms spearheaded by Nguyễn Phú Trọng and economic integration policies tied to trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and negotiations with the European Union. She endorsed state priorities in cooperation with agencies like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Vietnam) and Ministry of Planning and Investment (Vietnam), and engaged in social policy initiatives involving organizations such as the Vietnam Women's Union and the Committee for Ethnic Affairs (Vietnam).

On diplomatic matters she followed the party line toward balancing relations between major powers including China and United States while participating in multilateral settings such as ASEAN summits and AIPA (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly) meetings. Her rhetoric emphasized continuity with the policies of predecessors from trajectories set by figures like Lê Duẩn, Nguyễn Văn Linh, and Trường Chinh in the context of contemporary leaders Đỗ Mười and Nguyễn Minh Triết.

Personal life and legacy

Thịnh maintained a profile focused on state service rather than personal publicity, interacting with civic organizations like the Vietnam Women's Union and provincial bodies in Phú Yên Province. Her ascendancy to the acting presidency, though brief, marked a historic instance for women in Vietnamese state leadership and has been referenced alongside other female figures such as Nguyễn Thị Doan and Võ Thị Ánh Xuân. Her role is assessed within discussions on gender representation in institutions including the National Assembly (Vietnam) and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and in analyses comparing leadership transitions involving Trần Đại Quang, Nguyễn Phú Trọng, and Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Vice presidents of Vietnam Category:Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam