Nguyễn Tấn Dũng (also known as Ba Dũng, Dũng the Third, as a result of a South Vietnamese manner of addressing, in which people consider the order of a person with respect to his siblings in his family hierarchy to decide how to call him; in this case, Dũng is the second child of his parents) (born November 17, 1949 in Cà Mau province) is the prime minister of Vietnam. He was confirmed by the National Assembly on June 27, 2006, having been nominated by his predecessor, Phan Văn Khải, who retired from office.
Nguyễn Tấn Dũng was born in Cà Mau province. Precisely on his 12th birthday (November, 17 1961), juvenile Nguyễn Tấn Dũng voluntarily joined the Vietnam People's Army, doing first-aid, and communication tasks; he also worked as a male nurse, and a physician. Dũng was four times wounded in the Vietnam War, and was later ranked as a level 2/4 wounded soldier. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law.
Dũng previously served as First Deputy Prime Minister from September 29, 1997. He was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam on June 10, 1967, then joined the army and was elected a member of the Party’s Politburo at the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth National Party Congresses.
He is the first Vietnamese communist leader who was born after the August Revolution in 1945 and the youngest Vietnamese Prime Minister (57 years old). International and national media regard him as the most progressive and active leader since Hồ Chí Minh.
One of his most remarkable moments was his visit to the Vatican to meet with the Pope, the first time any Vietnamese leader had done so since at least 1975 when Vietnam severed diplomatic ties with the Vatican following the nation’s reunification at the end of the Second Indochina War.
He was reelected on July 25, 2007. |