The National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam, the country's highest legislative body, selected Nguyen Phu Trong as its new chairman on Monday afternoon, a local official said.

On Monday afternoon, 84.58 percent of all NA deputies voted for Trong, member of the Political Bureau under the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, secretary of the Party Committee of Hanoi capital, and director of the Central Theoretical Council, after the legislature on Monday morning officially approved the resignation of outgoing NA Chairman Nguyen Van An, born in 1937, due to age factor, the official said, declining to be named.

The new NA chairman, on behalf of the NA Standing Committee, on Monday afternoon introduced Nguyen Minh Triet, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Party Committee of southern Ho Chi Minh City, for the post of state president, the official said, noting that the NA will vote for the post on Tuesday morning.

Trong, born in 1944 in Hanoi, currently holds a doctorate degree on Party construction. He studied at the Literature Faculty of the Hanoi General University (now the Hanoi National University) in the 1963-1967 period. He joined the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1967.

Trong worked at the Document Department of the Communist Magazine from December 1967 to July 1968. He acted as an editor at the magazine's Party Construction Department between July 1968 and August 1973.

He pursued a master degree in political economics at the Nguyen Ai Quoc High-ranking Party Institute from September 1973 to April 1976. He worked as an editor at the magazine's Party Construction Department between May 1976 and August 1981, studied in the former Soviet Union from September 1981 to July 1983 and gained associate professor title there, became vice head and then head of the Party Construction Department between August 1983 and February 1989.

Trong became member of the magazine's editing board between March 1989 and April 1990, deputy editor-in-chief from May 1990 to August 1991, and editor-in-chief in August 1991. He was elected member of the CPVCC in January 1994, re-elected in June 1996, and became deputy secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee in October 1996, and member of the Political Bureau in December 1997.

Trong became secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee in January 2000, chairman of the Central Theoretical Council in 2001, member of the CPVCC in April 2001, and member of the Political Bureau in April 2006. He paid official visits to China three times, in 1992,1997 and 2001. In 2003, he led a Vietnamese delegation to attend a party theoretical workshop held in Beijing.

At the weekend, Nguyen Van An, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, born in 1933, and State President Tran Duc Luong, 1937, officially submitted their resignations due to age factor, paving the way for a new generation of younger leaders. The NA officially approved the resignations on Monday morning.

Luong, Khai and An got resignation approval votes of 93.5 percent, 92.69 percent and 70.18 percent, respectively, from NA deputies.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2006)