Origins The precursor of the National Assembly was the National Representatives' Congress (), convened on August 16, 1945, in the northern province of
Tuyên Quang. This Congress supported
Viet Minh's nationwide general uprising policy against
Japanese and
French forces in Vietnam, and appointed the National Liberation Committee as a provisional government. •
The First National Assembly (1946–1960) After a series of events which was later called collectively the "
August Revolution",
Viet Minh seized the power all over the country, and the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam was declared by
Hồ Chí Minh in
Hanoi on September 2, 1945. On January 6, 1946, the first
general election ever in Vietnam was held all over the country in which all people 18 years old or older were eligible to vote. The first session of the First National Assembly (
Quốc hội khoá I) took place on March 2, 1946 with nearly 300 deputies in the
Hanoi Opera House.
Nguyễn Văn Tố was appointed as the Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee. The First National Assembly approved
Hồ Chí Minh as the head of government and his cabinet, and the former Emperor
Bảo Đại as "the Supreme Advisor". The second session,
Bùi Bằng Đoàn was appointed to be the Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee.
Tôn Đức Thắng was Acting Chairman from 1948, and from 1955, when Đoàn died, he was Chairman of the Standing Committee. The first and second Constitutions of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam were passed by this National Assembly in 1946 and 1959, respectively. The term of the First National Assembly was prolonged (14 years) due to the war situation in Vietnam, particularly the
partition of Vietnam according to the
Geneva Accords of 1954. From 1954 to 1976, the National Assembly's activities were only effective in
North Vietnam.
Divided Vietnam (1954–1976) North Vietnam •
The Second National Assembly (1960–1964) Because the
State of Vietnam claimed that it did not sign the Geneva Accords and doubted about the possibility of free elections in the North in July 1955, a nationwide general election for reunification could not be organized. The Second National Assembly was formed by 362 elected deputies of the North and 91 deputies of the South from the First National Assembly who continued their term.
Trường Chinh was appointed as the Chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee and held this position until 1981. •
The Third National Assembly (1964–1971) The Third National Assembly consisted of 366 elected deputies from the North and 87 deputies continuing their term. Its term was prolonged due to the war situation.
President Hồ Chí Minh died during the Third National Assembly's term, and was succeeded by
Tôn Đức Thắng. •
The Fourth National Assembly (1971–1975) Four hundred and twenty deputies were elected for the Fourth National Assembly. During the fourth term, North Vietnam signed the
Paris Peace Accords, recognizing the
Republic of Vietnam in South Vietnam. •
The Fifth National Assembly (1975–1976) The Fifth National Assembly consisted of 424 elected deputies. The fifth term was the shortest National Assembly's term as it was shortened to organize the nationwide general election after the
re-unification of Vietnam.
South Vietnam The predecessor of the
Republic of Vietnam was the
State of Vietnam (1949–55), which had no parliament but a National Advisory Council of 45 people appointed by the Chief of State. Due to
war conditions, the state could not hold parliamentary elections and could hold municipal elections in January 1953. After the Republic of Vietnam was formed in 1955, it organized
parliamentary elections on 4 March 1956, leading to the establishment of its own
parliament and constitution on 26 October that year. It initially had a unicameral parliament. After the
new constitution was passed in 1967, the parliament had two parliamentary chambers: the
Senate (
Thượng-nghị-viện, literally
Upper Parliament) and the
House of Representatives (
Hạ-nghị-viện, literally
Lower Parliament). After the
Fall of Saigon, the
Republic of South Vietnam held the People's Assembly (
Đại hội đại biểu Nhân dân) as its sole legislature.
Since 1976 •
The Sixth National Assembly (1976–1981) Following a consultative conference between North and South Vietnam for their reunification in November 1975, a general parliament election took place on April 25 of the following year. The voters selected 492 members, of which 243 represented the South and 249 the North. In this term, the National Assembly adopted the name "the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" for the re-unified country on 2 July 1976, merged corresponding organizations between the Government of
North Vietnam and
South Vietnam, and renamed Saigon as
Ho Chi Minh City. It approved the new Constitution in 1980. The "sixth" numbering indicates that it is the constitutional continuation of the National Assembly of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North. •
The Seventh National Assembly (1981–1987) The Seventh National Assembly and its 496 members witnessed the end of the Vietnamese centralized and heavily planned economy and the
CPV's launch of the Renewal Policy to adopt market economy.
Trường Chinh was elected as
Chairman of the State Council and
Nguyễn Hữu Thọ was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly. •
The Eighth National Assembly (1987–1992) In previous elections, because successful candidates were chosen in advance, the electoral process was not genuine. No one could run for office unless approved by the Communist Party, and in some cases the local body of the party simply appointed the candidates. Every citizen had a duty to vote, and, while the balloting was secret, the electorate, through electoral study sessions, received directives from the party concerning who should be elected. The elections in 1987 were evident that the party was tolerating a wider choice in candidates and more debate. The 1987 election chose 496 deputies for the Eighth National Assembly. In this term, the National Assembly approved the 1992 Constitution, in which the citizen's personal ownership of properties in business was guaranteed.
Lê Quang Đạo was appointed to be the National Assembly's Chairman. •
The Ninth National Assembly (1992–1997) The 1992 election established the first National Assembly after the 1992 Constitution came into effect. From this term, the National Assembly's agenda has been filled with law-making procedures to serve the
Đổi mới Policy. National Assembly consisted of 395 elected deputies. In this term,
Nông Đức Mạnh was elected as the 7th Chairman of the National Assembly. •
The Tenth National Assembly (1997–2002) National Assembly consisted of 450 elected deputies. In this term, Chairman
Nông Đức Mạnh was re-elected as the chairman of the National Assembly and become the second person to be re-elected after
Trường Chinh. In the middle of 2001, he was chosen to be the CPV's secretary-general in its Ninth National Congress and ceased his role as the chairman of the National Assembly.
Nguyễn Văn An was appointed to replace Mạnh and he became the 8th chairman of the National Assembly. •
The Eleventh National Assembly (2002–2007) National Assembly consisted of 498 elected deputies. In this term, Nguyễn Văn An was elected as the chairman of the National Assembly. NA Vice Chairpersons:
Trương Quang Được, Nguyễn Phúc Thanh, Nguyễn Văn Yểu. After the Tenth National Congress of CPV, he retired. In 2006,
Nguyễn Phú Trọng was appointed as the 9th chairman of the National Assembly. •
The Twelfth National Assembly (2007–2011) The National Assembly consisted of 493 elected deputies. In this term,
Nguyễn Phú Trọng was elected as the 10th Chairman of the National Assembly. NA Vice Chairpersons:
Tòng Thị Phóng (first),
Nguyễn Đức Kiên, Huỳnh Ngọc Sơn and Uông Chu Lưu. •
The Thirteenth National Assembly (2011–2016) National Assembly consisted of 500 elected deputies. In this term,
Nguyễn Sinh Hùng was elected as the 11th Chairman of the National Assembly. NA Vice Chairpersons: Tòng Thị Phóng (first), Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, Uông Chu Lưu and Huỳnh Ngọc Sơn. •
The Fourteenth National Assembly (2016–2021) National Assembly consisted of 496 elected deputies. In this term,
Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân was elected as the 12th Chairperson of the National Assembly and first woman ever to hold this position. NA Vice Chairpersons: Tòng Thị Phóng (first), Uông Chu Lưu, Phùng Quốc Hiển and
Đỗ Bá Tỵ. •
The Fifteenth National Assembly (2021–2026) National Assembly consisted of 499 elected deputies. In this term,
Vương Đình Huệ was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly. NA Vice Chairpersons:
Trần Thanh Mẫn (first),
Nguyễn Khắc Định,
Nguyễn Đức Hải and
Trần Quang Phương. •
The Sixteenth National Assembly (2026–2031) National Assembly consisted of 500 elected deputies. In this term,
Trần Thanh Mẫn was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly. NA Vice Chairpersons:
Đỗ Văn Chiến (first),
Nguyễn Khắc Định,
Nguyễn Thị Thanh,
Nguyễn Doãn Anh,
Nguyễn Hồng Diên and
Nguyễn Thị Hồng; Secretary-General
Lê Quang Mạnh. == Structure and organization ==