Vietnamese President, Tran Dai Quang, dies

Vietnam ’ s President Tran Dai Quang died Friday at age 61 after a prolonged and serious illness, state media reported .He passed away from a “ serious illness despite devoted treatment by professors and doctors ” both in Vietnam and abroad , the official Vietnam News Agency said .
In office as president since April 2016 after more than four decades at the powerful Ministry of Public Security , Quang had a reputation as a tough leader with little tolerance for dissent .

Though he held one of the country ’ s top four positions and was officially the head of state , his role as president was seen as largely ceremonial , greeting visiting leaders and hosting diplomatic events in a bid to boost Vietnam ’ s profile on the world stage .

Quang had appeared thin and pale in public , and was unstable on his feet last week when he hosted a welcoming ceremony for Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Hanoi last week .

His last public appearance was just two days ago , at a meeting with visiting Chinese politicians and foreign dignitaries in Hanoi .

Quang, a member of the Politburo , had a reputation as tough and influential in the inner circles of the communist party , though often appeared uncomfortable in the public eye and lacked the charisma of some of his peers in the upper echelons of the party .

In an interview with AFP in 2016 ahead of a visit by the former French leader Francois Hollande , Quang read from a prepared statement and was quickly escorted from the room by staff when a question went off – script .

State media made a sombre announcement of his death Friday and celebrated his long commitment to public service .

His time in office was dominated by a simmering conflict with Beijing over the South China Sea , a long- running dispute between the communist neighbours that escalated on several occasions .

Vietnam cancelled at least one oil drilling project in the resource – rich region during Quang’ s tenure in an apparent bid to quell tensions.

He was the administration ’ s most public face at a series of high -profile events , most notably at an APEC meeting in Danang in November last year where he hosted a bevy of world leaders — including US President Donald Trump and China ’ s Xi Jinping.

As president , he oversaw a crackdown on dissidents that rights groups have decried as a chokehold on free expression . More than 40 people were jailed this year and some 100 have been behind bars as of April 2018 , according to Amnesty International .

( AFP )

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