The politics of Vietnam is dominated by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), under a communist state system. The President of Vietnam () is the nominal head of state, and the Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government. Both of these offices are often separate from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who leads the CPV and is head of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission. The General Secretary is thus the highest position in Vietnamese politics.
The Vietnamese constitution and legislation provides for regular elections for the office of the President of the Socialist Republic, the National Assembly and the People's Councils. In practice, there are no freely elected national leaders, and the CPV suppresses political opposition, controls all religious activity, prohibits dissent, and curtails civil rights. Elections in Vietnam occur under a single-party authoritarian political system. Vietnam is among the few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold any direct multiparty elections at the national level. The competitive nature of the elections is highly constrained by the Communist Party's monopoly on power in Vietnam, limitations on free speech, and government interference with the elections.
The National Assembly is a rubber stamp unicameral legislative body, although many scholars argue it has asserted more authority in recent decades. It consists of 500 members, indirectly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Through this legislature, the party enacts and amends the constitution and laws, such as the current Constitution of Vietnam. This document, the country's fifth, was adopted on 28 November 2013 and amended in 2025. The assembly also adopts the government budget, supervises the government of Vietnam and other public officials, and appoints members of the judiciary.
Public officials supervised by the National Assembly include those holding executive power. The government (), the main executive state power of Vietnam, is headed by the Prime Minister, who has several Deputy Prime Ministers and ministers in charge of particular ministries that implement political, economic, cultural, and social public policies. The executive branch is also responsible for national defence, security and external activities of the state through a President elected by National Assembly for a five-year term. They act as the de jure commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council because the de facto commander-in-chief is the Secretary of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Vietnam has a judicial system whose members are appointed by the CPV-controlled National Assembly. The Supreme People's Court () is the highest court of appeal in Vietnam. There are other specialised courts in Vietnam, including the Central Military Court, the Criminal Court, the Civil Court, the Appeal Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy.
Framework
Legal framework
State ideology
thumb|A Communist Party poster in [[Hanoi in 2006]]
Vietnam is a socialist republic with a one-party system led by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). According to Pierre Brocheux, the author of Ho Chi Minh: a Biography, the state ideology is Hồ Chí Minh Thought, with Marxism–Leninism playing a secondary role.
The thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh were not systematised until 1989, under the leadership of Nguyễn Văn Linh. Hồ Chí Minh Thought, alongside Marxism–Leninism, became the official ideology of the CPV and the state in 1991. The CPV's claim to legitimacy was retained following the collapse of communism in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 through its commitment to the thoughts of Hồ Chí Minh, according to Sophie Quinn-Judge. Some scholars argue that the party leadership has ceased believing in communism and uses Hồ Chí Minh Thought as a veil. However, other scholars disagree, noting that Hồ Chí Minh was an avid supporter of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Others view Hồ Chí Minh Thought as a political umbrella term that primarily serves to smuggle in non-socialist ideas and policies without challenging socialist legality.
Since the introduction of a mixed economy in the 1980s and 1990s, Marxism–Leninism has lost its monopolistic ideological and moral legitimacy. The Đổi Mới reforms demonstrate that the Party could not base its rule on defending only the workers and the peasants (officially: the "working class-peasant alliance"). In the constitution introduced in 1992, the State represented the "workers, peasants and intellectuals". The Party has thus stopped representing a specific class in favour of the "interests of the entire people", which includes entrepreneurs. The final class barrier was removed in 2002, when party members were allowed to engage in private activities. In the face of de-emphasising the role of Marxism–Leninism, the Party has acquired a broader ideology, placing more emphasis on nationalism, developmentalism, and becoming the protector of tradition.
Institutions
Communist Party of Vietnam
thumb|The flag of the Communist Party of Vietnam
The communist state which emerged in the 20th century has been described either as totalitarian the system established after the 1986 reforms has inherited some legacies of the past, with the freedom of assembly, association, expression, press and religion as well as civil society activism being restricted.
In 2021, General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, was re-elected for his third term in office. In July 2024, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng died and was succeeded by Tô Lâm. In January 2026, Tô Lâm was re-elected as general secretary of the Vietnam's Communist Party for the next five years by the party congress.
Congress
The National Congress is the party's highest organ. The direction of the Party and the Government is decided at the National Congress, held every fifth year. The Central Committee is elected by the National Congress. Delegates vote on policies and candidate posts within the central party leadership. Following ratification of the decisions taken at the National Congress, the National Congress dissolves itself. The Central Committee, which is elected by the National Congress every fifth year, implements the decisions of the National Congress in the five-year period. Since the Central Committee only meets twice a year, the Politburo implements the policies of the National Congress.
Central Committee
thumb|Headquarters of the [[Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee]]
The Central Committee (CC) is the CPV's "most powerful institution". It delegates some of its powers to the Secretariat and the Politburo when it is not in session. When the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the Vietnamese leadership, led by Lê Duẩn, began to centralise power. This policy continued until the 6th National Congress, when Nguyễn Văn Linh took power. Linh pursued a policy of economic and political decentralisation. The party and state bureaucracy opposed Linh's reform initiatives; because of this, Linh tried to win the support of provincial leaders. This caused the powers of the provincial chapters of the CPV to increase in the 1990s. The CPV lost its power to appoint or dismiss provincial-level officials in the 1990s; this is proven by the fact that Võ Văn Kiệt tried to wrestle this power back to the centre during the 1990s without success. These developments led to the provincialisation of the Central Committee; for example, more and more CC members have a background in provincial party work. Because of these changes, power in Vietnam has become increasingly devolved. In that year's elections, 15 out of the 182 candidates nominated by the central government and the central party leadership were defeated in the elections. Lê Thị Thu Ba, a member of the Party's Central Committee and Chairman of the Committee of Law during the 12th National Assembly (2007–2011), was not re-elected to the National Assembly. Some capitalists were elected to the assembly and then barred from sitting on the assembly's Committee on Economy and Budget. State-sponsored media reported the elections as a success. Nguyễn Sinh Hùng, the Chairman of the National Assembly, nominated Trương Tấn Sang for the Presidency. VietnamPlus and Xinhua News Agency reported that 487 deputies of the National Assembly, or 97.4%, voted in favour of Trương Tấn Sang. According to the People's Daily, Trương Tấn Sang said in his victory speech, "I pledge to improve my moral quality and study the example of the late President Hồ Chí Minh to cooperate with the government to bring Vietnam to become a fully industrialized country by 2015".
Structure of government
Executive
thumb|The [[Government Office (Vietnam)|Government Office as seen in 2019]]
The Prime Minister of the Government is the head of government and is elected or dismissed by the National Assembly, at the request of the president.
|President
|Tô Lâm
|Communist Party
|2026
|-
|Vice President
|Võ Thị Ánh Xuân
|Communist Party
|2021
|-
|Prime Minister
|Lê Minh Hưng
|Communist Party
|2026
|-
|Senior Deputy Prime Minister
|Phạm Gia Túc
|Communist Party
|2026
|-
|Deputy Prime Minister
|Phan Văn Giang
|Communist Party
| 2026
|-
|Deputy Prime Minister
|Nguyễn Văn Thắng
|Communist Party
|2026
|-
|Deputy Prime Minister
|Lê Tiến Châu
|Communist Party
|2026
|-
|Deputy Prime Minister
|Phạm Thị Thanh Trà
|Communist Party
|2025
|-
|Deputy Prime Minister
|Hồ Quốc Dũng
|Communist Party
|2025
|}
Legislative
Judiciary
thumb|The [[Supreme People's Court of Vietnam|Supreme People's Court building]]
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) is the highest court for appeal and review, and reports to the National Assembly, which controls the judiciary's budget and confirms the president's nominees to the SPC and SPP. Below the SPC are district and provincial people's courts, military tribunals, and administrative, economic and labor courts. The people's courts are the courts of first instance. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has military tribunals, which have the same rules as civil courts. Military judges and assessors are selected by the MOD and the SPC, and the SPC has supervisory responsibility.
|Head of the Steering Committee of the Central Judicial Reform
|Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
|Communist Party
|2021
|-
|Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court
|Nguyễn Hòa Bình
|Communist Party
|8 April 2016
|-
|Director of the Supreme People's Prosecutor
|Lê Minh Trí
|Communist Party
|8 April 2016
|}
Local government
thumb|The [[Ho Chi Minh City Hall as seen in 2023.]]
Provinces and municipalities are subdivided into towns, districts and villages. Provinces and municipalities are centrally controlled by the national government. Towns, districts and villages are locally accountable to some degree through elected people's councils.