Vietnam Bids Farewell to Influential Leader Nguyen Phu Trong

Nguyen Phu Trong, the powerful general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, has passed away at 80 following prolonged illness. He was pivotal in consolidating the Party's power and shaping Vietnam's political landscape since 2011.

Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party and the country's most powerful politician, has died following months of ill health, according to official media reports on Friday. He was 80 years old.

"General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party Nguyen Phu Trong passed away at 13:38 on July 19, 2024, at the 108 Central Military Hospital due to old age and serious illness," the Nhan Dan newspaper announced.

Trong, who dominated Vietnamese politics since his election as party chief in 2011, played a crucial role in consolidating the Communist Party's power in Vietnam's single-party political system. His leadership marked a significant shift in the balance of power that had previously leaned towards the governmental wing led by then-Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

(With inputs from agencies.)