Chief of the General Staff (Vietnam)

Military advisor in the People's Army of Vietnam

Chief of the General Staff

Tổng Tham mưu trưởng

Incumbent
Nguyễn Tân Cương

since 9 April 2021

Ministry of National Defence
Member of| General Staff
Reports to| The president
The minister of defence
Appointer| The president
with CPV Politburo introduction, advice and consent
Term length| No fixed term
Formation| 7 September 1945
First holder| Hoàng Văn Thái

The chief of the General Staff (alternatively the general chief of staff; Vietnamese: Tổng Tham mưu trưởng) is the chief of staff of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam. The chief of the General Staff performs the task of advising the minister of defense in terms of state management and military command, by that practically being the second highest-ranking professional leader of the Vietnam People’s Army alongside the chief of the General Department of Political Affairs. The chief of the General Staff also serves ex officio as standing deputy minister of defense. He is appointed by the president of Vietnam, who is the commander-in-chief. The current chief of the General Staff is Army General Nguyễn Tân Cương

## List of chiefs of the General Staff

[edit]

No. | Portrait  | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Minister of Defence | President | Ref.

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| Thái, Hoàng VănArmy general
Hoàng Văn Thái
(1915–1986)
[a]| 7 September 1945| 1953| 7–8 years|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Chu Văn Tấn
Phan Anh
Võ Nguyên Giáp
Ta Quang Buu
Võ Nguyên Giáp| Hồ Chí Minh| –

| Dũng, Văn TiếnArmy general
Văn Tiến Dũng
(1917–2002)
[b]| 1953| 1954| 0–1 years|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Võ Nguyên Giáp| Hồ Chí Minh| –
(1)|

| Thái, Hoàng VănArmy general
Hoàng Văn Thái
(1915–1986)| 1954| 1954| 0 years|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Võ Nguyên Giáp| Hồ Chí Minh| –
(2)|

| Dũng, Văn TiếnArmy general
Văn Tiến Dũng
(1917–2002)| 1954| 1978| 23–24 years|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Võ Nguyên Giáp| Hồ Chí Minh
Tôn Đức Thắng| –

| Tấn, Lê TrọngArmy general
Lê Trọng Tấn
(1914–1986)
[c]| 1978| 5 December 1986 †| 7–8 years|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Võ Nguyên Giáp
Văn Tiến Dũng| Trường Chinh| –

| Anh, Lê ĐứcArmy general
Lê Đức Anh
(1920–2019)
[d]| 5 December 1986| 16 February 1987| 73 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Văn Tiến Dũng| Võ Chí Công| –

| Khuê, ĐoànArmy general
Đoàn Khuê
(1922–1999)
[e]| 16 February 1987| 10 August 1992| 5 years, 176 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Lê Đức Anh| Võ Chí Công| –

| Luyện, Đào ĐìnhColonel general
Đào Đình Luyện
(1929–1999)
[f]| 10 August 1992| December 1995| 3 years, 3 months|  Vietnam People's Air Force| Đoàn Khuê| Võ Chí Công
Lê Đức Anh| –

| Trà, Phạm VănArmy general
Phạm Văn Trà
(born 1935)
[g]| December 1995| 29 December 1997| 2 years|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Đoàn Khuê| Lê Đức Anh| –

| Lịch, Đào TrọngLieutenant general
Đào Trọng Lịch
(1939–1998)
[h]| 29 December 1997| 22 May 1998 †| 144 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Phạm Văn Trà| Trần Đức Lương| –

| Dũng, Lê VănArmy general
Lê Văn Dũng [vi]
(born 1945)
[i]| 22 May 1998| May 2001| 2 years, 11 months|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Phạm Văn Trà| Trần Đức Lương| –
10|

| Thanh, Phùng QuangArmy general
Phùng Quang Thanh
(1949–2021)
[j]| May 2001| 31 August 2006| 5 years, 3 months|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Phạm Văn Trà| Trần Đức Lương| –
11|

| Nghiên, Nguyễn KhắcColonel general
Nguyễn Khắc Nghiên
(1951–2010)
[k]| 31 August 2006| 13 November 2010 †| 4 years, 74 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Phùng Quang Thanh| Nguyễn Minh Triết| –
12|

| Ty, Đỗ BáArmy general
Đỗ Bá Tỵ
(born 1954)
[l]| 22 November 2010| 21 May 2016| 5 years, 190 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Phùng Quang Thanh| Nguyễn Minh Triết
Trương Tấn Sang| –
13|

| Giang, Phan VănArmy general
Phan Văn Giang
(born 1960)
[m]| 21 May 2016| 8 April 2021| 4 years, 322 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Ngô Xuân Lịch| Trần Đại Quang
Nguyễn Phú Trọng| –
14|

| Cương, Nguyễn TânArmy general
Nguyễn Tân Cương
(born 1966)| 9 April 2021| Incumbent| 4 years, 125 days|  Vietnam People's Ground Force| Phan Văn Giang| Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
Vo Van Thuong
Tô Lâm| –

### Gallery

[edit]

## Chairmen of Chief of Staff by branches of service

[edit]

* Air Force – 1
* Ground Force – 13
* Navy Force – 0

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Deputy Minister of Defence, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Leader of Vietcong from 1967 - 1973, Deputy Chief of Staff from 1974 to 1986.
2. ^ Later elected to Minister of Defence, Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam.[1]
3. ^ Deputy Minister of Defence, Member of Central Committee, died in 1986.[2]
4. ^ Later elected to President of Vietnam, Member of the Politburo.[3]
5. ^ Later elected to Minister of Defence, Member of the Politburo.[4]
6. ^ Held at the same time the position of Deputy Minister of Defence, Member of the Central Committee.
7. ^ Later elected to Minister of Defence, Member of the Politburo.
8. ^ Deputy Minister of Defence, member of Central Committee, died in an aircraft crash in 1998.[5]
9. ^ Later elected to Director of the General Department of Politics, Secretary of the Central Committee.
10. ^ Later elected to Minister of Defence, Member of the Politburo.
11. ^ Deputy Minister of Defence, Member of the Central Committee, died in 2010 of cancer.[6]
12. ^ Deputy Minister of Defence, Member of the Central Committee. Later elected to Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam
13. ^ Deputy Minister of Defence, Member of the Central Committee.[7] m

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Văn Tiến Dũng" (in Vietnamese). Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010.
2. ^ "Lê Trọng Tấn" (in Vietnamese). Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010.
3. ^ "Lê Đức Anh" (in Vietnamese). Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010.
4. ^ "Đoàn Khuê" (in Vietnamese). Từ điển Bách khoa toàn thư Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010.
5. ^ "Bay qua đỉnh Phy Phả Xây" (in Vietnamese). Tuoitre.com.vn. 6 June 2005. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
6. ^ "Nguyễn Khắc Nghiên" (in Vietnamese). National Assembly of Vietnam. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010.
7. ^ "Vietnam's new chief of general staff appointed". e.vnexpress.net/. 22 May 2016.

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army

* Hoàng Văn Thái (1945-53, 1954)
* Văn Tiến Dũng (1953-54, 1954-78)
* Lê Trọng Tấn (1978-86)
* Lê Đức Anh (1986-87)
* Đoàn Khuê (1987-92)
* Dao Dinh Luyen (1992-95)
* Phạm Văn Trà (1995-97)
* Dao Trong Lich (1997-98)
* Le Van Dung (1998-2001)
* Phùng Quang Thanh  (2001-06)
* Nguyen Khac Nghien (2006-10)
* Đỗ Bá Tỵ (2010-16)
* Phan Văn Giang (2016-21)
* Nguyễn Tân Cương (2021-present)

* v
* t
* e

Vietnam People's Army

General|

* Ministry of National Defence
* Minister
* Vietnam People's Army
* General Staff
* Chief
* General Political Department

Services & Arms|

* Ground Forces
* Navy
* Air Defence - Air Force
* Border Guard
* Coast Guard
* Special Operation Force
* Engineering
* Chemical
* Amour - Tank
* Signal
* Artillery

Military regions|

| Active|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 7th
* 9th
* High Command of Capital Hanoi

|

Former|

* 6th
* 8th

Army corps|

| Active|

* 12th
* 34th

|

Former|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th

Others|

* General Engineering Department
* General Logistics Department
* General Department of Defence Industry
* General Department of Defence Intelligence
* Equipment
* Ground Forces
* Navy
* Air Force

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of defence by country

Chief of Defence

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* DR Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* Somaliland
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

former|

* Biafra
* Bophuthatswana
* Ciskei
* British Egypt
* Ethiopian Empire
* Rhodesia
* Transkei
* Venda
* Zaire

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Secretariat of National Defense
* Secretariat of the Navy
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* AJA
* IRGC
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

former|

* Democratic Kampuchea
* Imperial Japan
* Mengjiang
* Manchukuo
* South Vietnam

Europe|

* Abkhazia
* Albania
* Armenia
* Artsakh
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Georgia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Cyprus
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* South Ossetia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Transnistria
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican

former|

* Austria–Hungary
* Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Independent State of Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Prussia
* Imperial Germany
* Nazi Germany
* East Germany
* Ottoman Empire
* Russian Empire
* Republika Srpska
* Republic of Serb Krajina
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

Supranational|

* European Union
* NATO

former|

* Warsaw Pact

*[No.]: Number
*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
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