What powers does the Prime Minister's Special Envoy have?

The Prime Minister's special envoy is the person who helps the Prime Minister handle work in specific areas and has the same functions and powers as a normal assistant. They do not have the right to mobilize the police and military for support and do not enjoy VIP treatment like some scammers have recently used to scare local areas and businesses...

The Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Police Department has just arrested Tran Kieu Hung for using fake documents to impersonate the Prime Minister's Special Envoy. When he was arrested on April 19, Hung had on him an "Official Order" with the name Tran Kieu Hung, with the position of Deputy Director of the Government Economic Management Department and Special Envoy of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The order had the signature and red seal of former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung forged (issued on December 31, 2015, valid until June 30, 2016).

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan.

The content of the "Official Order" of the subject Tran Kieu Hung stated: The person carrying the "Official Order" is given special priority when participating in traffic; enjoys VIP treatment and priority at domestic airports when traveling by plane for work; is authorized to mobilize armed forces in localities when performing special tasks...

Not only Hung, there have been some people who impersonated the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to threaten and defraud businesses and local government agencies for financial gain. Who is the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, what functions and powers does he have that Hung impersonated and in fact fooled many authorities in the provinces and cities?

Regarding this issue, former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, former Special Envoy of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, said: State regulations and current laws do not have or do not stipulate the title of Special Envoy of the Prime Minister. However, in many specific cases, the Prime Minister is the one who has the right to appoint an individual as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to help the Prime Minister resolve and handle certain specific issues. For example, General Dong Sy Nguyen, who was the Commander of the Truong Son Corps, upon retirement was appointed by the Prime Minister as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy in charge of monitoring Program 327 on the protection and development of protective forests and special-use forests and monitoring the construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Mr. Ha Quang Du, former Minister in charge of Youth and Sports, then Minister and Chairman of the Sports and Physical Training Committee, was appointed as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on a number of issues related to sports and youth...

Or like Mr. Vu Khoan, when he retired, he was appointed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on foreign affairs. Mr. Khoan is responsible for giving advice to the Prime Minister on major foreign policies and activities, important foreign political documents...

According to former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister Vu Khoan, the special envoys chosen by the Prime Minister are usually elderly people but still have health, knowledge and prestige to undertake specific tasks assigned by the Prime Minister. "The special envoys are usually retired people, almost no one who is working or holding office is appointed as the special envoy of the Prime Minister. The special envoy of the Prime Minister is different from the member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Group. The special envoy can handle and decide on a specific task, while the member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Group mainly researches and proposes policies," said Mr. Vu Khoan.

So what is the power of these Special Envoys? In response to this question, Mr. Vu Khoan said: "They do not have any special power. They are just like other normal assistants of the Prime Minister." Mr. Vu Khoan also shared that when he was Special Envoy for Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, his power was to handle work related to events during APEC Vietnam 2006, especially events during the high-level week.

He also assisted the Prime Minister and the International Economic Cooperation Committee in developing and implementing the Action Program to implement commitments on WTO accession; border demarcation with China and Cambodia... For work related to the above issues, units under the Government Office consulted Mr. Vu Khoan before submitting to the Prime Minister...

According to Mr. Vu Khoan, when performing those tasks, he received a monthly allowance, a car and an office. "The Prime Minister's special envoy does not mobilize security, the army and enjoy VIP treatment like those scammers show off to the world. If they are scammers, they can say whatever they want, the special envoy absolutely does not have such powers" - former special envoy Vu Khoan affirmed.

It is known that not only in Vietnam, the Special Envoy is used, but many countries in the world also use this title. For example, in the US, the use of special envoy has existed since the time of President Jefferson (1801-1809).

However, it was not until the 20th century, with the development of information technology and transportation, and the increasingly powerful US forces, that the White House began to intervene in many events of the international community, and the use of special envoys by the president began to increase.

According to danviet.vn