Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang died at a military hospital in Hanoi on Friday at 61, reported Vietnam News. Quang died due to a serious illness “despite efforts of both Vietnamese and foreign doctors”.
Former Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu said Quang had been unwell for months, reported Reuters. “He began showing symptoms of illness in June last year and has been treated in Japan six times since,” said Trieu. “He suffered from a kind of highly virulent virus, for which there has not been any efficient treatment.”
During a visit to Hanoi by Indonesia President Joko Widodo on September 11, Quang looked unwell and stumbled while stepping on to a platform to inspect a guard of honor. On Wednesday, he hosted a reception for China’s Supreme Court chief.
Quang was elected to the post in 2016 after serving as the public security minister. His presidency was due to end in 2021.
According to the constitution, the vice-president steps up if the president is unable to work. “Vice president Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh will handle his duties until the National Assembly elects a new president,” said lawyer Tran Vu Hai. While the National Assembly is scheduled to meet next month, the date could be brought forward, he added.
Quang was born in the northern rural province of Ninh Binh. “We are saddened to hear the news that the president has died,” said Bui Duc Phi, council chairman of the village where he was born.
Recalling Quang’s successful state visit to India in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his death.
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