Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan is Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.

Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan replaced Mr. Dinh La Thang as Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee for the 2016-2021 term.

On the morning of May 10, the Politburo issued a decision appointing Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan - Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee - to hold the position of Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee for the 2016-2021 term, replacing Mr. Dinh La Thang - who was transferred to hold the position of Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission.

Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan. Photo: Giang Huy.

Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, 64 years old, from Tra Vinh, is a Professor of Economics, Doctor of Cybernetics, fluent in English and German. He is a member of the Party Central Committee of the 10th, 11th, 12th terms; a National Assembly delegate of the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th terms.

From 1980 to 1983, Mr. Nhan worked at the Military Technical Institute - Ministry of National Defense. Then, he worked at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in the positions of lecturer, Deputy Head of Department, Dean and Vice Principal.

The new Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee also spent time as an Education Attaché at the Vietnamese Embassy in the German Democratic Republic.

Since 1997, he has been a member of the City Party Committee and Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City. He then held the position of Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and became Minister of Education and Training in 2006.

In August 2007, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister (and Minister of Education and Training until 2010), and was approved to hold this position at the first session of the 13th National Assembly in 2011.

In May 2013, at the 7th Conference of the 11th Party Central Committee, Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan was elected to the Politburo. Four months later, he was unanimously elected by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to replace Mr. Huynh Dam as chairman until now.

>> Video:Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan answered the interview in English.

During his tenure as Minister of Education and Training, Mr. Nhan advocated the campaign: "Say no to negativity in exams" and "Say no to chasing after achievements".

Mr. Nhan is also known for his outspoken statements about the state of education in Vietnam. "It is a mistake to give students degrees to enter the workforce. This can be compared to confirming that a soldier is a good shooter when he is not good enough to hold a gun. Thus, when he goes into battle, he is easily the first to be killed and the consequences are not only his personal loss but also the loss of society."

Or during the conference on innovation of Pedagogical schools in November 2006, he admitted: "For a long time now, in the pedagogical sector, there has been a situation of haphazard training."

Mr. Nhan is the only son of the late Professor, Doctor Nguyen Thien Thanh - who researched and applied the Filatov method in medical treatment. His family is one of five families in Vietnam whose father and son are both Professors.

>> Video:Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan spoke in German.

According to VNE