HCMC – Tran Duc Thang, deputy inspector general of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam, was appointed by the prime minister as acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment on July 17.
The appointment follows a leadership shakeup after former Minister Do Duc Duy was disciplined by the Politburo the same day for serious violations committed during his stint as leader of former Yen Bai Province.
The President of State on July 17 signed Decision 1355 suspending Duy from the post of Minister of Agriculture and Environment in the 2021-2026 tenure as from July 17, 2025 until the National Assembly relieve Duy from his ministerial job.
Thang, 52, is a native of former Vinh Phuc Province (now part of the new Phu Tho Province) and holds a PhD in economics. He is a member of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Thang has held several key government positions, including deputy director and then director of the Public Asset Management Department under the Ministry of Finance.
In October 2018, he was elected to the Central Inspection Commission and became its deputy chairman in 2020. Two years later, he was appointed Party secretary of the former Hai Duong Province for the 2020–2025 term.
On July 1, 2025, he assumed the role of permanent deputy inspector general of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam, as part of a broader administrative reorganization involving the merger of Hai Duong and Haiphong into the new Haiphong City.
