New National Assembly Chairwoman and the mark of 'coconut land's heroine'

Remembered for her campaign to rescue 10,000 Vietnamese workers from the Libyan war zone and building new rural areas in Hai Duong, Ms. Kim Ngan was also voted an 'influential woman'.

Before making history as the first female Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held many different positions and left her own mark.

'Southern female hero becomes top official of Eastern province'

Born in Ben Tre, having held leadership positions in this province, Ms. Ngan was affectionately nicknamed "the female hero of the coconut land" by the people.

In 1995, while working as Director of the Department of Finance of Ben Tre province, she was transferred to Hanoi to work as Deputy Minister of Finance.

In 2002, she was assigned to be the Secretary of Hai Duong (Eastern region). At that time, she was the only woman in the country holding the position of Provincial Party Secretary.

After 40 months of living and working in Hai Duong, she left in the hearts of the people the image of a charming but also very individualistic female Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee wearing a conical hat and ao ba ba. Leaving Hai Duong, she left behind a newly developed rural infrastructure, modern industrial zones and a high economic growth rate.

Ms. Kim Ngan when she was Minister of Labor in 2007. Photo: PL PHCM.

The second largest rescue of Vietnamese workers in history

In January 2011, Libya was shaken by a wave of protests by thousands of people against the government. The Middle Eastern country was in turmoil, engulfed in violence and gunfire. The lives of more than 10,000 Vietnamese workers in the country were threatened.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs advised the Government to establish a Steering Committee to resolve the situation of Vietnamese citizens in the Middle East and North Africa, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem and Minister of Labor Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Vietnamese people in Libya were instructed to move away from the war zone and stay connected. At the end of February, Vietnam began a campaign to evacuate workers back home.

Under the direction of the Government, including the determination of Minister Kim Ngan, on February 26, the first Vietnamese workers arrived at Noi Bai airport.

"In this rescue, there is no bargaining over money or conditions. The goal is to quickly bring workers back safely," Minister Ngan affirmed to the people of the whole country in a "tense" situation.

The clear message from the Minister has helped families with relatives in war zones to somewhat ease their worries.Every time a flight lands, Noi Bai is filled with smiles and tears of happiness.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan boarded the plane to pick up Vietnamese workers from Libya to return home on the evening of March 1. Photo: NH.

On March 9, the last plane brought 209 workers home; more than 1,000 people arrived by ship at Cai Lan port a month later, marking the completion of the second largest Vietnamese evacuation in history, after the evacuation of workers during the 1991 Gulf War.

Compared to other countries with workers in Libya, Vietnam is one of the first countries to complete the evacuation of its citizens. More importantly, the 10,000 main workers in the families are safe, healthy, and supported to find new jobs.

Trusted Vice President of the National Assembly

Elected Vice President of the National Assembly in July 2011, Ms. Kim Ngan is considered intelligent and decisive in discussions on socio-economic issues.

She is remembered for her statements: "In Vietnam, there is a very good and very strange law that the world does not have, which is the law on popularizing legal education. That means, the law was enacted but it was not implemented, and when another law on popularizing legal education was enacted, it was also... not implemented."

Summarizing 5 reasons why the law does not come into practice, she resolutely said: "We have never dealt with a ministry or sector that has not seriously implemented the law, so now we have to tighten discipline, not just raise their awareness.

Commenting on the draft revised Law on Military Service in 2014, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that there should be no distinction between regular and non-regular students."Officers of the National Assembly Office who are of military service age must still do military service," Ms. Ngan emphasized.However, she also suggested flexible options for when to perform military service.

With her sharpness in parliament, Ms. Ngan led the "high confidence" list twice in the National Assembly. In 2013, she received 372 "high confidence" votes and in 2014, she received the most "high confidence" votes with 390 votes.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (in purple vest) is considered an influential woman in Vietnam. Photo: Giang Huy.

'Woman of Influence'

2016 - the first year announcing the 20 most influential women in Vietnam, Forbes Vietnam voted for herNguyen Thi Kim Ngan tops the list.

This magazine assessed that she was successful in the positions of Secretary of Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and in the role of Vice President of the National Assembly, she also demonstrated sharpness, decisiveness, and freshness when leading meetings as well as when discussing directly in groups.

Having experienced management work from local to central level, spanning the fields of economics - finance, trade, labor - society. "With that responsibility, Ms. Ngan is a woman with great influence in Vietnam today", Forbes commented.

According to VNE