Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and former President of Vietnam (2018-2021), passed away at the age of 80 on July 18, 2024, at a military hospital in Hanoi.
Following his death, To Lam, the President of Vietnam, was appointed as the caretaker chief of the Communist Party of Vietnam on July 18, 2024.
In 2015, Nguyen Phu Trong became the first Vietnamese party leader to visit the United States.