Vietnam is a one-party state, within which the CPV dominates all the institutions, including the government, the army and the bureaucracy. The party’s highest body is the 19-member politburo, elected by the Central Committee, which is itself elected at the five-yearly party congress. The three most senior party leaders are the CPV’s General Secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong; the President, Tran Dai Quang and the Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Trong was re-elected for a second term in January 2016 during a Congress of the party. On the same occasion Phuc was picked as premier. Both appointments can be seen as a choice to maintain the status quo. The presidency is a more ceremonial post. Quang, a former police chief, was elected in April by the National Assembly.
