Vietnam Names New President

Truong Tan Sang assumes largely symbolic post
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 25, 2011 12:39 PM CDT
Vietnam Names New President
This picture taken on July 21, 2011 shows Politburo member Truong Tan Sang, 62, in Hanoi.   (Getty Images)

Vietnam named a new president today, a largely symbolic post. Truong Tan Sang, 62, is a longtime rival of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Dung will likely be re-elected to his post, the country's most powerful, in a National Assembly vote tomorrow. The two are expected to be cordial as the country struggles economically. Dung is "not about to pick a fight with his rival," a diplomat tells the AFP.

Sang was nominated as the only candidate for the position of president over the weekend, and was confirmed with more than 97% of the National Assembly vote. A student militant turned Ho Chi Minh City mayor, Sang has been the Communist Party's de facto No. 2 since 2006. (More Vietnam stories.)

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