New prime minister in Vietnam

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, 56, was elected prime minister with an overwhelming 92 percent of the National Assembly vote. Nguyen Minh Triet, Communist Party chief for Ho Chi Minh City, was approved as president by a landslide 94 percent. Both were the sole candidates nominated.

Photo: New prime minister in Vietnam

New prime minister in Vietnam

Dung, a former central bank governor from the southernmost province of Ca Mau, has long been groomed for the job. He has a military background that includes fighting the Americans during the Vietnam War. He has been overseeing the economy in recent years, which has posted Southeast Asia's hi ghest growth rate of roughly 7.5 percent.

Triet, 63, is considered an economic reformer and as party head in Ho Chi Minh City - once the former South Vietnam capital of Saigon - he developed a reputation for tackling graft, according tot he AP.

On Monday, the assembly elected Nguyen Phu Trong, 62, Communist Party chief for Hanoi, as the new chairman of the legislature.

Vietnam is one of the world's last remaining communist countries. Only one party is allowed to exist, and the government is run by a collective style of leadership. The prime minister is in charge of overseeing the day-to-day workings, while the president holds a more ceremonial position. The country's most powerful leader is the head of the Communist Party.