The Permanent Member of the Secretariat, officially the Permanent Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee's Secretariat (), is a senior position within the Communist Party of Vietnam.
The Permanent Member is appointed by the Politburo, and is responsible for the management of directives and day-to-day work of the Secretariat. A member of both the Politburo and the Secretariat, the officeholder is often considered the fifth most powerful figure in Vietnam's political system — immediately behind the General Secretary of the Central Committee, the President, the Prime Minister and the Chair of the National Assembly.
The current officeholder is Trương Thị Mai, the first woman to serve in this position. She was appointed by a decision of the 13th Politburo on 6 March 2023 to replace Võ Văn Thưởng, who left office after his election as President of Vietnam on 2 March 2023.
History
The office was established at the Party's 4th National Congress.
During the tenure of the 8th Central Committee (1996–2001), the Secretariat was replaced by the Politburo Standing Committee, thus, the office was known as Permanent Member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
The current qualifications for the officeholder is in accordance with Regulation No. 214-QD/TW dated 2 January 2020 of the Politburo on title standards and evaluation criteria for cadres under the management of the Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat.
Selection process
Political qualifications
A Permanent Member of the Secretariat has to be a Central Committee member. To be elected to the Central Committee, one must show absolute loyalty to the Party’s interests, the nation and the people. Moreover, a Central Committee member must steadfastly commit to Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, national independence, socialism and the Party’s line. The Permanent Member must have an unwavering political stance and show political bravery. Therefore, the individual must resolutely protect the Party's ideology, the Party's Platform, the Party's line, the Constitution and the State's laws and combat erroneous views. Moreover, they must be patriotic, always put the interests of the Party, nation and the people above their personal interests, and be willing to sacrifice themself for the Party’s revolutionary cause, national independence and the people’s happiness.
As a Central Committee member, a Permanent Member must have exemplary ethics and live a good lifestyle. The 214-QD/TW regulations state that the Permanent Member has to have exemplary moral qualities such as living honestly, humbly, sincerely, purely, simply, tolerantly, and being thrift, having a high sense of integrity, fairness and impartiality. Furthermore, the regulation stresses that the officeholder must not have ambition for power, while stressing the need for enthusiasm and a high sense of responsibility for work. A Permanent Member cannot be corrupt, seek opportunities for personal profiteering and must resolutely combat, prevent and repel deterioration of political ideology, morality, lifestyle, manifestations of self-evolution, self-transformation, bureaucracy, corruption, negativity, waste, rights and group interests in the party-state. More specifically, the Permanent Member cannot let relatives and acquaintances take advantage of their positions and powers for profit. A Permanent Member must strictly implement the Party's organisational and disciplinary principles, especially the principles of democratic centralism and criticism and self-criticism. It is expected that the officeholder properly exercises their powers and responsibilities and direct the strict implementation of principles, regulations and procedures on cadre work as well as resolutely struggling against manifestations and deeds contrary to the regulations of the Party and the State in cadre work.