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Vietnam's President Quang dies at 61 for illness

In this file photo taken on March 23, 2018, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang greets journalists as he waits for the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. (Photo by AFP)

Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang, one of the country's top three leaders but with mostly ceremonial duties, died on Friday after an illness, state television and radio announced.

Quang, 61, died in a military hospital in Hanoi from a "serious illness despite efforts by domestic and international doctors and professors," Vietnam Television reported.

Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by the president, prime minister and Communist Party chief. Experts say the presidency is largely ceremonial.

Quang was appointed to the role in April 2016. Before that, he had served as Minister of Public Security, an organization with broad powers and a remit that includes intelligence gathering and thwarting domestic and foreign threats to the party.

Originally from a small farming community 115 km (70 miles) south of Hanoi, Quang rose through party ranks to become a police general and member of Vietnam's powerful decision-making Politburo.

Rumors of Quang's illness had been swirling on social media for months.

At one of his last appearances, during a visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Hanoi on September 11, Quang appeared visibly unwell and stumbled as he stepped onto a platform to inspect a guard of honor.

State-owned newspaper Vietnam News said Quang hosted a reception for China's Supreme Court chief in Hanoi on Wednesday.

(Source: Reuters)


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