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Vietnam's new leadership regime was installed in Hanoi on Tuesday after the newly appointed president selected the country's next prime minister.
Nguyen Minh Triet, Communist Party chief for Ho Chi Minh City, was approved as president by the country's National Assembly, winning 94 per cent of the votes.
"This is an honour, but also a heavy responsibility the party and people assigned to me," Triet said in his acceptance speech.
Ho Chi Minh City party chief Nguyen Minh Triet speaks to reporters during a break in a National Assembly session in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, June 26. Nguyen Minh Triet, the Communist Party boss for Ho Chi Minh City in the south, has been nominated for president in a major reshuffle of the government.
(Tran Van Minh/Associated Press)
"I swear to try my best to serve the country, serve the people and fulfil the job of president."
Triet then nominated Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, 56, to become the next prime minister. He was elected to the post with an overwhelming 92 per cent of the National Assembly vote.
Both men were the sole candidates for the jobs.
In Vietnam's one-party state, the prime minister is in charge of overseeing the government, while the president holds a more ceremonial position.
The country's most powerful leader is the head of the Communist Party, Nong Duc Manh. Manh was retained in April.
Over the weekend, the legislature approved the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Phan Van Khai as well as President Tran Duc Luong and National Assembly chairman Nguyen Van An.
Luong and Khai are retiring after holding their posts since 1997.
The new president and prime minister both hail from the south, which will represent a break from the traditional north-south balance.
Triet was elected to the all-powerful Politburo in 1997 and became head of the Communist Party in Ho Chi Minh City in 2000.
He received credit for an organized crime sweep in 2003 which involved 155 defendants, including police officers and high-ranking government officials.
The country's most notorious mob boss, Nam Cam, was executed along with several of his associates as a result of the corruption trial.
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