The Politburo is a subunit of the
Central Committee, the supreme organ on party affairs. The members of the Central Committee, when the
Party Congress has ended, freely elects the composition of the Politburo. The Politburo is the leading organ on Party affairs; the Central Committee convenes twice a year, and the Politburo can implement policies which has been approved by either the previous Party Congress or the Central Committee. It is the duty of the Politburo to ensure that resolutions of the Party Congress and the Central Committee are implemented nationally. It is also responsible for matters related to organisation and personnel, and has the right to prepare (and convene) a Central Committee
plenary session. Meetings are held regularly; decisions within the Politburo are made through
collective decision-making, which means that policies are only enacted if a majority of Politburo members support them.
Power in relation to the state Before the reforms of
Nguyễn Văn Linh during the 1980s, the Politburo was the supreme decision-making organ in all areas of party and state. Before 1988, the Politburo had no clearer guideline on its responsibilities on socioeconomic issues. Because of this lack, the Politburo more frequently meddled in the affairs of the
Council of Ministers (the central government). Until 1988, the Politburo made detailed planning and budgetary decisions; from 1988 onward, the Politburo decides a plan's general orientation, and lets the central government make detailed socioeconomic decisions. The all-encompassing role of the Politburo before 1988 blurred the roles of the party and state in the decision-making process. Another problem until 1988 was that more members of the Politburo were leading officials within the state (again blurring the roles of party and state). The Politburo has the unofficial power to appoint members of the central government through the
National Assembly of Vietnam. Because the National Assembly is dominated by the party, party leadership has considerable leverage in appointing members of the central government. If the Politburo decides the appointment of officials, party members can oppose the nominees; the appointment of
Đỗ Mười was opposed by the Club of Resistance Veterans, a group of reformist communist
cadres. ==14th Politburo members==