After the merger, 34 provinces and cities have restructured their organizational apparatus and leadership positions with notable new features, including many young, well-trained cadres and deputy ministers or equivalent transferred from the central government. They are all strategic-level cadre resources.

Four provincial/municipal People’s Committee chairs were deputy ministers

Among the 23 new chairs of provincial/municipal People’s Committees, some were deputy ministers of various ministries transferred to localities in the last four years. They include Tran Duy Dong, Nguyen Hoang Giang, Pham Anh Tuan, and Ta Anh Tuan.

Tran Duy Dong, 46, PhD in Economics, was Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment before being transferred to Vinh Phuc to work as Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chair of the People’s Committee in July 2024.

After the merger, Dong was appointed Chair of Phu Tho People’s Committee.

Nguyen Hoang Giang, 54, PhD in Economics, was Deputy Minister of Science and Technology.

In July 2024, he was assigned as Deputy Secretary of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee and later elected Chair of the province’s People’s Committee (August 2024). After the merger of Quang Ngai and Kon Tum, Giang was appointed by the PM as Chair of the new Quang Ngai People’s Committee.

Pham Anh Tuan, 52, PhD in Finance, was Deputy Minister of Information and Communications. He has been Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chair of the Binh Dinh People’s Committee since September 2022. After the provincial merger, Tuan was appointed Chairman of the Gia Lai People’s Committee.

Ta Anh Tuan, 56, Master’s in Finance, was Deputy Minister of Finance. Since November 2022, he has been Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Phu Yen People’s Committee. After the merger, he has been appointed Chair of the Dak Lak People’s Committee.

Additionally, some cadres equivalent to deputy ministers have been transferred to localities to take on significant responsibilities.

Nguyen Dang Binh, 47, PhD in Economics, former Deputy Head of the Central Party Office, was transferred to Bac Kan and elected Chair of the People’s Committee in September 2021.

When Bac Kan merged with Thai Nguyen, Binh was appointed Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chair of the Thai Nguyen (new) People’s Council.

Nguyen Tuan Anh, 50, PhD in Economics has been recently appointed Deputy Secretary of the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee after the reorganization. He previously served as Deputy Head of the National Assembly’s Committee Affairs and Deputy Head of the Office of the 15th NA Party Delegation.

In November 2024, Tuan Anh served as Deputy Secretary of the Yen Bai Provincial Party Committee and was elected Chair of the province’s People’s Committee until the provincial merger.

Nguyen Tuan Anh, 50, PhD in Agriculture from Seoul National University, Associate Professor was Deputy Chair of the NA’s Committee for Science, Technology, and Environment.

In February 2025, he was assigned by the Central Secretariat to join the Executive Committee, Standing Committee, and serve as Standing Deputy Secretary of the Hau Giang Provincial Party Committee. He also served as Head of the Hau Giang NA Delegation.

After the merger of Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Soc Trang, Nguyen Tuan Anh was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Can Tho City Party Committee and Head of the new Can Tho City NA Delegation.

Tran Tien Dung 50, Master’s in Law, former Secretary of the Vinh Long (old) Provincial Party Committee, was Deputy Minister of Justice.

With over 20 years in the justice sector, he was a strategically planned cadre who progressed through roles such as specialist, leadership secretary, Deputy Head, and Head of the Ministry of Justice’s Office. In 2016, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice.

Three years later, Dung was assigned by the Central Secretariat to join the Executive Committee, Standing Committee, and serve as Deputy Secretary of the Lai Chau Provincial Party Committee for the 2015–2020 term. He was then elected Chair of the Lai Chau People’s Committee and re-elected for the 2021–2026 term.

In May 2023, he was reassigned as Deputy Minister of Justice. In January this year, Dung was assigned by the Politburo to serve as Secretary of the Vinh Long Provincial Party Committee.

After Vinh Long merged with Ben Tre and Tra Vinh, Dung has been assigned by the Politburo to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Dien Bien Provincial Party Committee.

Provincial leaders who were former deputy ministers reassigned to the central government

Nguyen Huy Dung, 42, Master’s in Information Technology was Deputy Minister of Information and Communications. In September 2024, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee and was elected Chair of the People’s Committee.

Recently, the Central Secretariat assigned Dung to serve as a full-time member of the Central Steering Committee for the Development of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation.

Dang Khanh Toan, 54, Master’s in Economic), former Secretary of the Nam Dinh (old) Provincial Party Committee, was recently assigned by the Politburo to serve as Deputy Head of the Central Party Office.

Toan previously held key positions at the Government Inspectorate and served as Deputy Head of the Central Party Office from July 2021 before being assigned as Secretary of the Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee in November 2024.

Nguyen Duc Hien, 48, PhD in Economics, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ca Mau Provincial Party Committee, was recently assigned and appointed Deputy Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Committee.

He served as Deputy Head of the Central Economic Committee for over four years before being assigned to Ca Mau as a provincial leader in September 2024.

Tran Thanh Lam, 52, Master’s in Information Management, former Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ben Tre (old) Provincial Party Committee, was Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Committee. In March 2023, he was assigned by the Central Secretariat to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee.

After the merger of Ben Tre, Vinh Long, and Tra Vinh into the new Vinh Long province, he was assigned by the Central Secretariat to serve as Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and People’s Mobilization Committee.

Anh Linh