Government

The government and politics of Vietnam has undertaken the arrays of vicissitudes and struggles throughout the nation's history. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam today came into existence in July 1976 when a single National Assembly, the highest state organ was established, unifying the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Modeled on the Soviet and Chinese political ideology, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is governed through a highly centralized system dominated by the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP: Viet Nam Cong San Dang). The state affairs are managed through a structure that parallels the party's apparatus; all key government positions are placed by the party's members. Every unit of society is ruled by a network of party cadres. Moreover, all citizens are expected to be members of one or another of the mass organizations led by the party cadres, and all managers and military officials must be liable to party representatives.

The Vietnam Communist Party was founded in 1930 by Ho Chi Minh other revolutionary leaders of Vietnam, fighting against the French rule and American troops during the Indochina wars. After the conquest over the French troops at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and according to the Geneva accords, Vietnam was partitioned into a communist North and non-communist South. The communist government of the North Vietnam managed the political and social organization in order to attain the ultimate goal of establishing the Socialism and Communism in Vietnam. With the initiative to unify the North and the South of the communist party, the elections were scheduled to take place in 1956. However, the elections were never held. The Republic of Vietnam government led by Ngo Dinh Diem in the south canceled the elections and denied the affiliation to the Communist government. This led to the revolution in the South by the National Liberation Front of the North Vietnam formed as a guerilla movement in opposition to the South Vietnamese government. It was then that American troops got involve in the conflicts, bringing about the Vietnam War and eventually, the defeat of the United States.

In 1975, communist government of the North Vietnam took over the political power from the South Vietnamese government and established the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh ranked the chairman of the Vietnamese Communist Party and at the same time, the President of the socialist state.

The first plan after the reunification stressed the development of agriculture and light industry of the country together with the collectivization of economy in the private sector. However, due to the devastation from the struggles and the controversy among the officials themselves, the goals of development seemed high and unachievable. The socialist transformation in private sector had led to decreased production, increased production costs, and decreased product quality. In addition to addressing many problem of the country newly unified, Vietnam also had to work out postwar relations with Cambodia, China, and the Soviet Union. Consequently, it took Vietnam a while to recover and adjust its situation. Afterwards, Vietnam experienced a new experimentation and reform when the new policies initiated by the Soviet Union's new leadership in1985 were introduced into the country, setting the stage for a period of self-examination, the elimination of corrupt party officials, and new economic policies.

Nowadays, most of rulers in the government are still the high-ranking officials from the party members and from the military who have been in their position for decades without young repository for the future political career. The government ruled by the gerontocracy is then worth observing for the prospective political situation within the country. Regarding to the foreign relations, after its self-restraint policy with non-communist countries in Europe, and especially the former enemy like the United States, was attenuated, Vietnam conducted diplomatic rehabilitations with other non-communist countries worldwide. In November 1995, the US President Bill Clinton confirmed the normalized US-Vietnamese relations by inaugurating the US embassy in Vietnam. The same year, Vietnam became a member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after being boycotted from adhesion.

Government structure
According to the Constitution, the National Assembly is the highest government organization and the highest-level representative body of the people. It has the power to draw up, adopt, and amend the constitution. The important body that heads the National Assembly is the Council of ministers acting through the Council of State; its duties include submitting draft laws, decrees, and other bills to the National Assembly and the Council of State; drafting state plans and budgets and implementing them following the National Assembly's approval; managing the development of the national economy; organizing national defense activities and assuring the preparedness of the armed forces; and organizing and managing the state's foreign relations. The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Organs of Control are also the constitution-making powers of the National Assembly. A general national election to choose National Assembly delegates is held every five years.

Despite its formally multiple duties, the National Assembly appears merely as a legislative arm of the Vietnamese Communist Party's Political Bureau which possesses the real power of decision-making and absolute control over the government policies. In other words, the National Assembly converts Political Bureau's resolutions into laws and decrees and mobilizes popular support for them. Within the Political Bureau, there are three organs handling the different functions of the party. The most important of the three bodies is the Party Secretariat which oversees the party and day-to-day implementation of policies set by the Political Bureau. The Central Control Commission is charged with investigating reports of party irregularities. The third one is the Central Military Party Committee which controls the party's military affairs.

The first election following the reunification for the North and the South was held in April 1976 and the voters selected 492 members, of which 243 represented the South and 249 the North. The candidates were mostly chosen in advance, and the alternate candidates needed the approval from the Party before standing for the election. Through electoral study session, the electorate received directives from the party regarding who should be elected. Nevertheless, the later elections were more opened; the party tolerated a wider choice in candidates and more debate.

In March 2002, the National Assembly convened for the final session of its five years term, and elections in May 2002 led to a new assembly and cabinet.

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