Nong Duc Manh

General Secretary, Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)

Date of Birth: 11\09\1940

Education: Leningrad Forestry Institute, Soviet Union, 1966; Nguyen Ai Quoc Party School.

Career: Joined the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Political Bureau, 1992; elected Chairman of the National Assembly; elected CPV General Secretary, 2001.

Commentary: Vietnam's revolutionary days are long since over and CPV General Secretary Nong Duc Manh leads an outward-looking country committed to multilateral diplomacy, which has taken steps to mend relationships (and borders) with China, Laos and Cambodia. Now Vietnam is seeking to develop trade relations with Africa, reaching out to Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco and Central African Republic.

Nong Duc Manh is the most powerful member of the leading troika with President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Said to be more liberal than his predecessor Le Kha Phieu, Manh has overseen a continuation of the doi moi (renovation) reforms that began in 1986 under General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh. The gradual dismantling of the command economy has led to impressive long-term growth, but Manh still heads an authoritarian regime, which harshly suppresses dissent. Reporters Without Borders dubbed him a 'predator' for his treatment of critical journalists.