on last held 23 September 1992
(next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative
elections in July 1997); prime minister appointed by the president
from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime
ministers appointed by the prime minister
election results: Le Duc ANH elected president; percent of National
Assembly vote - NA

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (395
seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 July 1992 (next to be held 20 July 1997)
election results: percent of vote by party - CPV or CPV-approved 100%;
seats by party - CPV or CPV-approved 395

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court, chief justice is elected for
a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the
president

Political parties and leaders: only party - Communist Party of Vietnam
(CPV), DO MUOI, general secretary

International organization participation: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, Mekong
Group, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Le Van BANG
chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 501
telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737
FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas "Pete" Peterson
embassy : 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone: [84] (4) 8431500
FAX: [84] (4) 8350484 or 8431510

Flag description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the
center

Economy

Economy - overview: Vietnam is a poor, densely populated country that
has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial
support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally
planned economy. Substantial progress has been achieved over the past
10 years in moving forward from an extremely low starting point.
Economic growth continued at a strong pace during 1996 with industrial
output rising by 14% and real GDP expanding by 9.4%. Foreign direct
investment rose to an estimated $2.3 billion for the year, up by about
30% from 1995. These positive numbers, however, masked some major
difficulties that are emerging in economic performance. Many domestic