Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn was born in 1962. His hometown is Hanoi.
He is a professional diplomat with expertise and more than 30 years of experience in international relations studies, foreign policy planning, international economics and international negotiations.
He is married and has one daughter.
Education
He graduated in 1984 from the University of Diplomacy (now the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam) and obtained a Master degree in International Affairs at Columbia University (USA) in 1993.
He speaks English and Japanese.
Career
Minister Bui Thanh Sơn began his diplomatic career in September 1987 as a researcher at the Institute for International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). From June 1993 to March 1996, he was designated as the Head of Europe – America Department, Chief of Office, Institute for International Relations. He held the position of Deputy Director of the Institute for International Relations from March 1996 to February 2000.
From March 2000 to July 2003, he was the Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Viet Nam to the Republic of Singapore, before returning to MOFA to serve as Deputy Director, then Director General of the Department of Foreign Policy Planning until September 2008.
Between September 2008 to November 2009, he acted as the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director General of the Department of Foreign Policy Planning. He also was Viet Nam’s Chief Negotiator of the Partnership and Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Viet Nam and the EU from September 2008 to June 2012.
In November 2009, he was appointed Vice Minister and from July 2016 served as First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Bui Thanh Sơn is a member of the 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam since January 2016 and a deputy of the National Assembly since June 2016.
On April 8, 2021, he is appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by the National Assembly.
Awards and honours
In his career, he has been conferred with many awards of high distinction, including two Second-Class Order of Labour in 2016 and 2018 and the Third-Class Labour Order in 2011 and numerous Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit for his outstanding contributions to the diplomatic service and the execution of the country’s foreign policies.