Ho Chi Minh City has new chairman

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Council elected Phong, a member of the Party Central Committee and standing deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee, at its seventh session on Thursday morning, with all members present voting in favor.

Phong will serve as chairman of the municipal People's Committee for the 2026-31 term.

Earlier in the session, the council approved a resolution relieving Nguyen Van Duoc of his duties as chairman. 

After that, Duoc was named standing deputy secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.

Phong, 48, previously served as standing deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee from October 2025.

Born in Hanoi in 1978, he holds a doctorate in biotechnology, a master's degree in biochemistry, and a bachelor's degree in biological sciences.

He began his involvement in the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union while attending Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City.

He later studied and worked at the University of Science under Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City before holding several positions in the municipal Youth Union, eventually becoming its secretary.

Phong subsequently served as secretary and first secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

In 2020, he became secretary of the Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee and continued in the role following the province's merger in July 2025.

He was elected an alternate member of the 12th Party Central Committee in 2016 and a full member of the 13th Central Committee in 2021, before securing another term on the 14th Central Committee in 2026.