Vietnam's ruling Communist Party has appointed for the first time a U.S.-educated official to its politburo, a landmark decision as pressure mounts to reform an economy stagnating after years of boom growth.
Nguyen Thien Nhan, a deputy prime minister overseeing education, health and technology, was brought in after the top decision-making body of the party that has ruled Vietnam since 1975 voted to increase its membership, the government said recently on its website.
Nhan, 59, has a master's degree in public policy from the University of Oregon and joins an elite group long dominated by politicians educated locally or in the former Soviet Union. He studied in the former East Germany in the 1970s before being awarded a scholarship to the United States; he also served as vice mayor of Ho Chi Minh City.
Dennis Galvan, vice provost for international affairs with the university, said the appointment provided the latest link in ties between the UO and East Asia that reach back years.
“The Office of International Affairs has played a leading role in coordinating all aspects of UO's international engagements,” Galvan said, “from welcoming and supporting students like Nguyen Thien Nhan when they first arrive on American soil, to sending students to the region, to working with faculty who build many of our international bridges.”
The late professor Rob Proudfoot, himself a Vietnam veteran, was a key player in establishing UO's early relationship with postwar Vietnam. Today the work is carried forward by Tuong Vu, a political science professor and head of the Asian Studies program.
“Tuong Vu leads our engagements with Vietnam, as well as Indonesia and several other Southeast Asian countries where he has done cutting-edge research on the politics of development,” Galvan said.
International Affairs is also the administrative home to the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, the UO's oldest international center, which nourishes research and intellectual community building on many topics related to Vietnam, Southeast Asia and the region.
“We look forward to celebrating Nguyen Thien Nhan's success with him on the UO's next official visit to Vietnam, likely to occur in 2013-14, with a delegation organized by the Office of International Affairs,” Galvan said.
Vietnam's economy is hindered by weak credit growth and consumer demand that has forced 113,000 businesses to close since 2011, when inflation soared to over 20 percent and foreign investors delivered only a sixth of the $64 billion pledged.
Vietnam's ruling party has vowed reforms to tackle debt in its banking system and mismanagement at cash-sapping state-owned firms. Economists say policymakers have slowed inflation but have been reluctant to implement structural changes.
The politburo also picked its second female member, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, a deputy chairwoman of parliament and former deputy minister of trade and finance.
- from a story by Voice of America