Duties and powers of the President

President Vo Van Thuong takes the oath of office. Photo: Quang Khanh

According to Article 88 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the President has the following duties and powers:

1. Promulgate the Constitution, laws, and ordinances; propose to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly to reconsider an ordinance within 10 days from the date of its adoption. If the Standing Committee of the National Assembly still votes in favor of the ordinance but the President disagrees, the President shall submit it to the National Assembly for decision at the nearest session.

Party and State leaders congratulate President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong. Photo: Quang Khanh

2. Propose to the National Assembly the election, dismissal, and removal of the Vice President and the Prime Minister; based on the National Assembly's Resolution, appoint, dismiss, and remove from office the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, and other members of the Government.

3. Propose to the National Assembly the election, dismissal, and removal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuracy; based on the National Assembly's Resolution, appoint, dismiss, and remove judges of the Supreme People's Court; appoint, dismiss, and remove deputy chief justices of the Supreme People's Court, judges of other courts, deputy prosecutors, and prosecutors of the Supreme People's Procuracy; decide on pardons; and based on the National Assembly's Resolution, announce general amnesties.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presents flowers to congratulate President Vo Van Thuong. Photo: Quang Khanh

4. Decisions on awarding Orders, Medals, State prizes, and State honorary titles; decisions on granting, renouncing, restoring, or revoking Vietnamese citizenship.

5. Commander-in-Chief of the People's Armed Forces, Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, decides on the conferment, promotion, demotion, and revocation of military ranks of generals, rear admirals, vice admirals, and admirals of the navy; appoints, dismisses, and removes from office the Chief of the General Staff and the Head of the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army; based on resolutions of the National Assembly or the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, announces and revokes decisions declaring a state of war; based on resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders general mobilization or partial mobilization, announces and revokes a state of emergency; in cases where the Standing Committee of the National Assembly cannot convene, announces and revokes a state of emergency nationwide or in specific localities.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue presents flowers to congratulate President Vo Van Thuong. Photo: Quang Khanh.

6. Receiving foreign ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary; based on resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, appointing and dismissing; deciding on the assignment and recall of ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; conferring ambassadorial ranks and titles; deciding on negotiations and signing of international treaties on behalf of the State; submitting to the National Assembly for ratification, deciding on accession to or termination of international treaties as stipulated in Clause 14, Article 70; deciding on the ratification, accession to, or termination of other international treaties on behalf of the State.

Do Van Chien, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, presents flowers to congratulate President Vo Van Thuong. Photo: Quang Khanh.

Clause 14, Article 70 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stipulates: The National Assembly shall decide on fundamental foreign policy; ratify, decide on accession to, or terminate international treaties relating to war, peace, national sovereignty, membership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in important international and regional organizations, international treaties on human rights, fundamental rights and obligations of citizens, and other international treaties contrary to laws and resolutions of the National Assembly.

Overview of the 4th Extraordinary Session of the 15th National Assembly. Photo: Quang Khánh