A crucial strategic personnel preparation step for the Party.

Last weekend, the Politburo approved the plan for the 13th Central Committee, term 2021-2026. The Politburo assigned the Steering Committee to inform Party committees, Party organizations, and leadership teams of agencies and units about the approval results; and simultaneously assigned the Central Organization Committee to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and localities, agencies, and units to implement the plan for training, fostering, and updating knowledge, along with rotation, arrangement, and assignment of work for the comrades included in the plan, in order to proactively prepare personnel for the Party congresses at all levels leading up to the 13th National Congress of the Party.

This is an important part of preparing strategic-level personnel for the new term. Cadres, especially strategic-level cadres, are the decisive factor in the success or failure of the revolution.

Images from the 9th Central Committee Meeting, 12th term.

Over 200 individuals were nominated for inclusion in the Central Committee's planning for the 13th Party Congress.

The plan for the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam was officially discussed at the 9th Conference of the 12th Central Committee at the end of December 2018.

Addressing this issue, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that in personnel work, personnel planning is the initial step, of paramount importance, ensuring that personnel work is systematic, proactive, forward-looking, and meets both immediate and long-term requirements.

In implementing the Politburo's plan, all 116 localities, agencies, and units to which the Politburo and the Steering Committee for the development of strategic-level personnel planning allocated the structure and number of personnel have promptly and seriously implemented the plan and the directives and guidelines from the Central Committee with a high sense of responsibility and determination.

Based on nearly 250 cadres identified and recommended by localities, agencies, and units, the Steering Committee for the development of strategic-level cadre planning coordinated with central Party committees to review and select candidates, reporting to the Politburo. The Politburo then unanimously recommended over 200 personnel for the Central Committee's consideration.

The officials nominated for the planning process have all been highly evaluated by local authorities, agencies, and units regarding their political qualities, ethics, lifestyle; qualifications, work capacity, reputation, and development prospects.

At the 9th Plenum of the 12th Central Committee, after careful study and discussion of the Submission, Report, and related documents on personnel planning, the Central Committee cast secret ballots to nominate candidates for the Central Executive Committee for the 2021-2026 term.

The Central Committee requested that, following the Conference, the Politburo, based on the Central Committee's nominations, promptly direct the Steering Committee and relevant functional agencies to carefully review and assess the personnel before submitting them to the Politburo for consideration and decision on personnel planning according to its authority and in accordance with Party regulations. Regular monitoring, supervision, and inspection of cadres included in the planning process are required. If any violations or deficiencies are found, they must be promptly removed from the plan. Simultaneously, a thorough review and analysis of the quality, structure, and composition across various fields of work should be conducted to promptly identify and recommend additional nominations for the plan, reporting to the Politburo for submission to the Central Committee for consideration at subsequent Conferences.

Emphasis should be placed on identifying new individuals who possess virtue, talent, and promising leadership and management potential.

Personnel work in general, and Party Congress personnel work in particular, must go through many meticulous and careful stages, from planning, training, fostering, rotation, assigning challenging tasks, to voting on confidence in cadres... To do a good job of Party Congress personnel work in accordance with the Party's Charter, regulations, and rules on personnel work, the nomination of personnel for Party committees, the Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat must be based on personnel planning, while also focusing on identifying and nominating new individuals with virtue, talent, and potential for leadership and management, especially young cadres, female cadres, and ethnic minority cadres.

Throughout the process of personnel selection for the Party Congress, Party committees at all levels and the Central Committee have truly promoted democracy and the collective wisdom of Party committees and cadres and members; been fair and objective in selecting and nominating personnel; and gradually pushed back against individualistic, parochial, unconstructive thinking, favoritism, avoidance, reluctance to confront issues, factionalism, division, and disunity, as well as violations of regulations on what Party members are not allowed to do.

At the 9th Plenum of the 12th Central Committee, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong requested that cadres included in the planning process be regularly monitored, urged, inspected, and supervised. If any violations or deficiencies in qualifications are discovered, they must be promptly removed from the planning process.

According to the General Secretary, the planning for the Central Committee for the 2021-2026 term is not yet about "making specific personnel appointments" for the next term, but it is a very important preparatory step, serving as the basis for personnel work for the 13th Central Committee of the Party. The spirit is to proceed step by step, meticulously and thoroughly; only after completing the planning for the Central Committee should the planning for the Politburo and the Secretariat be done; and only then will the planning for key positions be addressed.

The development of strategic-level personnel planning was first implemented during the 11th Party Congress. Based on the lessons learned from the 11th Congress, the 12th Central Committee affirmed that this process must continue and be carried out in a more fundamental, systematic, and rigorous manner.

To prepare strategic personnel for the new term, on May 30th, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong signed and issued Directive No. 35-CT/TW of the Politburo on Party congresses at all levels leading up to the 13th National Congress of the Party. This serves as the basis for all levels and sectors to successfully hold their Party congresses. In particular, the issue of personnel for Party committees at all levels, from standards and age requirements to the nomination, evaluation, and election processes, is guided in great detail and specificity by Directive 35.

Directive 35 requires that personnel work be carried out step by step, meticulously, cautiously, strictly, and according to procedures, ensuring democracy, objectivity, openness, and transparency, but truly placing the right person in the right job; resolutely preventing the inclusion in the new Party committees of individuals with weak political resolve, declining qualities, capabilities, and prestige; those lacking exemplary conduct, causing disunity, engaging in factionalism, opportunism, failing to defend what is right, and failing to fight against what is wrong; those exhibiting signs of ideological and political degradation, moral decay, and lifestyle deviations, "self-evolution," and "self-transformation" within the Party; those seeking positions and power through illicit means, corruption, negative practices, and "group interests"; those violating the principle of democratic centralism, current regulations and rules of the Party and State, political standards, and the prohibitions for Party members; those who are bureaucratic, authoritarian, and lack close ties with the people. The official himself or his/her spouse or children violate Party regulations, State policies, and laws, affecting the reputation of the agency, unit, or the official himself/herself...

With such meticulous and thorough preparations, coupled with the Party's determination, we are confident that the upcoming Party congresses at all levels and the 13th National Congress of the Party will select a team of cadres, especially in the 13th Central Committee, who are exemplary in intellect, character, and prestige; truly clean, strong, capable of leadership and possessing high fighting spirit, meeting the requirements of leading the country in the new situation.