The National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam, the country's highest legislative body, will select its new chairman on Monday afternoon, and then new prime minister and state president in the two following days, an official said Monday.

The NA Standing Committee on Monday morning introduced Nguyen Phu Trong, who is member of the Political Bureau under the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and secretary of the Party Committee of Hanoi capital, as a new NA chairman candidate, the official said on condition of anonymity.

If Trong gets majority voting on Monday afternoon, he will take office immediately, and introduce a candidate for the post of state president, the official said, noting that the NA will vote for the post on Tuesday morning.

The new state president will introduce a candidate for the post of prime minister who will be selected on Tuesday afternoon. The new prime minister will propose the NA relieve some cabinet members of their posts, including two deputy prime ministers, six ministers and chief of the Government Inspectorate. The six ministerial posts involve the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, finance, transport, culture and information, and education and training.

If the NA approves the proposal, the new prime minister will submit to the legislature a list of candidates for the posts of the cabinet members on Wednesday morning, while the new NA chairman will introduce a candidate for the post of the chief of the Government Inspectorate, the official said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the NA will vote for the new chief of the Government Inspectorate, and decide the approval of the list submitted by the new prime minister.

On Thursday morning, the NA will relieve some people of their posts as deputy chairmen and members of the National Defense and Security Council.

Trong, born in 1944 in Hanoi, holds a doctorate degree on Party construction. He joined the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1967.

At the weekend, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, born in 1933, State President Tran Duc Luong, 1937, and NA Chairman Nguyen Van An,1937, officially submitted their resignations due to age factor, paving the way for a new generation of younger leaders.

The NA announced on Monday morning it has accepted their resignations.

In mid-May, when having informal talks with reporters on the sidelines of the NA's ninth session, Khai, who has acted as prime minister since September 1997 after serving as deputy prime minister between July 1991 and August 1997, implied that he had nominated Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as his successor.

During its ongoing ninth session from May 16 to June 29, the NA, besides the personnel matters, is to focus on approving some 10 bills and giving opinions to 13 others, and reviewing reports of governments on major socioeconomic issues.

Source: Xinhua