Vietnam’s President Says He ‘Has Limits,’ Health Is ‘Worrisome’
- Party Chief Trong elected president after death of Quang
- Trong will oversee the Communist Party, police and military
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Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong asked for sympathy from the nation after being elected the country’s new president, citing his “worrisome” old age and health in an acceptance speech to the National Assembly.
The 74-year-old’s election by the parliament, announced Tuesday, followed the Sept. 21 death of President Tran Dai Quang from illness. He was nominated to the post by the politburo about two weeks after Quang’s death, elevating Trong to become the country’s most influential leader since late revolutionary founder Ho Chi Minh.