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Vietnam

Index

Vietnam Main Page
Vietnam Splits North and South; America Enters the War
Border Clashes With Cambodia Continue
Relations with America Improve as the Vietnamese Economy Reforms
Corrupt Leadership is Forced to Resign, but Reform Continues

Corrupt Leadership is Forced to Resign, but Reform Continues

A corruption scandal rocked Vietnam in April 2006. Transport minister Dao Dinh Binh resigned amid allegations that members of his staff embezzled millions from the country and used the funds to bet on soccer games. His deputy Nguyen Viet Tien was arrested for his role in the scandal.

President Tran Duc Luong and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai resigned in June 2006, making way for two younger leaders, President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Luong and Khai had led Vietnam since 1997 and were instrumental in Vietnam's two-decades-long transition to a market economy, called doi moi, or renovation.

Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization in January 2007, after waiting 12 years to join the group.

(For a Vietnam War chronology, see Headline History , p. 642.)

See also Encyclopedia: Vietnam .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Vietnam