HANOI, Dec 31 (Nikkei) - Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh will no longer be a member of the Politburo or a member of the 13th Central Party Committee following a Friday vote by the committee. The committee on the same day also voted for Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam to no longer serve as a member of the committee.

No specific reason for the vote has been announced.

The Central Party Committee also gave its opinions regarding two candidates that the Politburo may recommend for the National Assembly to approve for the title of deputy prime minister for the 2021-2026 term.

The Vietnamese government for the 2021-2026 term has four deputy prime ministers: Pham Binh Minh, Le Minh Khai, Vu Duc Dam and Le Van Thanh. After Friday, the government will have two deputy prime ministers left who are members of the Central Party Committee.

An extraordinary session by the National Assembly is expected to begin on January 5 next year to address certain issues, including those on personnel.

Minh, 63, is a veteran diplomat who entered the foreign affairs ministry in 1981. He then held several positions in the diplomatic sector, before becoming the deputy foreign minister in 2007, and the foreign minister in 2011. He became the deputy prime minister in 2013, a position he has held for the last 9 years. He became a standing deputy prime minister in 2021.

Minh is in charge of fields regarding diplomacy, external relations, international integration and human rights-related issues, among others.