Phạm Bình Minh

Phạm Bình Minh (Vietnamese pronunciation: [faːm˧˨ʔ ʔɓïŋ˨˩ mïŋ˧˧]; born 26 March 1959) is a Vietnamese diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2021 and as Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam from 2013 to 2023. Between September 2021 and his dismissal in January 2023, he also served as the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, the most senior among the deputy prime ministers, in the Cabinet of Phạm Minh Chính. Minh was also a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country's highest decision-making body, headed by General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng. Born in Nam Định Province, Minh was educated at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and at Tufts University. He is the son of Nguyễn Cơ Thạch, who also served as vice premier and foreign minister of Vietnam. On December 30, 2022, he was voted out of both the Central Committee and the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and stepped down from his position on January 5, 2023, after the National Assembly selected a successor. His dismissal was announced without specific reasons, but the moves come after he was accused of being involved in a scheme to extort fees from repatriate Vietnamese citizens stuck abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic with his ministerial assistant being arrested earlier in September 2022.