Before being prosecuted, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan was the most powerful woman in Vietnam, not the wives of the four highest leaders or the women in the Politburo.
Nhan is a person with hidden power, the important thing is that she can command even the senior leaders.
Many provincial secretaries who want to receive capital from the Central Government must rely on her voice. This is exactly what was announced by the state-controlled press. When applying for budget capital, provincial officials and Nhan competed to approve the implementation of the project. She is famous for helping the province, and at the same time earns a lot of money from the budget poured into it.
So the question is, who is Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan and has such terrible power? Women at the level of Politburo members may not be able to apply for central capital, nor may they be able to do the same as she did.
According to the article whose title, translated into Vietnamese, is “The long-term role of lovers in Southeast Asian politics” published in The Diplomat journal on May 4, 2022, by author David Hutt, there is a paragraph describing Nhan as follows:
“An alleged mistress scandal is once again in the news following the recent release of an arrest warrant for Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, a businesswoman and apparent broker between Vietnamese and Israel arms deals who is now living in Europe. She is suspected of fraud and rigging a bid for medical equipment worth some $7 million. According to rumors, which cannot be substantiated, she was the former mistress of both the current prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, and the current defense minister, Phan Van Giang. For some, her arrest warrant stems from an ongoing battle between the country’s most senior politicians.”
That is, foreign journalists also said that Nhan’s lover is Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, the current Prime Minister, and Mr. Phan Van Giang, the current Minister of National Defense. Although people say “information cannot be verified,” according to insiders this is accurate news.
Some people also added that this is just the surface, in fact, Nhan held close relations with more than the two senior officials mentioned above. One of those people is Tran Dai Quang – the late President of the country.
It is known that Nhan used her relationship with Tran Dai Quang to take over secretaries, provincial chairpersons and ministers. Nhan’s relationship with Tran Dai Quang was determined to be during the period when Quang was Minister of Public Security.
Information said that when Nhan’s father passed away, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long had to go to her home in Bac Ninh to pay his respects. In addition, the Secretary of Bac Ninh province at that time – Nguyen Nhan Chien – and the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh province at that time – Nguyen Tu Quynh – had to be on duty at Nhan’s house 24/7. The reason was that too many Politburo members came to pay their respects.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan’s relationship is described as very wide within the highest leadership Indeed, Mrs. Nhan has hidden power.
Having a relationship “above friendship” with three big figures, Tran Dai Quang, Pham Minh Chinh and Phan Van Giang, some people say that Nhan is a woman who can control senior leaders. That’s why she received whatever she asked for, which is hidden power that no Vietnamese woman has, including women who are or have ever been in the Politburo.
Currently, Ms. Nhan is wanted and fled abroad. Although she was highly wanted, she was also carefully protected. This comrade wanted to arrest her, but another comrade protected her. Because she holds too many secrets, the “comrades” who were once close to her do not want her to fall into “enemy” hands.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
