List of Presidents of Indochina (The Golden Triangle)

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1979) was the first President of Indochina

The President of Indochina (Vietnamese: Tổng thống Đông Dương), officially the Federal State President of the Federal Republic of Indochina (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nhà nước liên bang Cộng hoà Liên bang Đông Dương), is the head of state of Indochina. The president is elected by the Federal Senate and is the commander in chief of the Federal Armed Forces during peacetime and represents the Federal Republic in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by the president before they can come into effect, but usually the president only veto a law if he or she believe it to violate the constitution.

The modern Indochinese presidency traced its lineage to the post Chairman of the Joint Consultative Council for the three democratic republics of Laos, Kampuchea and Vietnam during the Indochina War (1945-1955). Upon the creation of the Union of Democratic Republics of Indochina, the head of state position was assumed by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, being the speaker of parliament. Both positions were held only by Ho Chi Minh, who also served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), thus making him the Supreme Leader. Upon Ho's death in 1979, a constitutional referendum was held in 1980, which voted in favor of the federalization of Indochina and abolishment of the Soviet system of government, establishing the modern Federal Republic of Indochina. Phạm Văn Đồng became the first Chairman of the Federal Council of State of the new federal republic. The position was later renamed to Federal State President or simply President in 1992 with the abolishment of the Federal Council of State (replaced by the Executive Office of the Federal State President).

The Yellow House is the Official Residence of the President of Indochina

The first president, Ho Chi Minh, who also served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), held far-reaching powers as the de facto Supreme Leader and was honoured as the State Elder of Indochina. After the death of Ho in 1979, Indochina became a federal parliamentary republic, but the presidency (as head of the powerful Federal Council of State) still carried significant power, making it a de facto semi-presidential system. Since 1992, the presidency has been reduced to a largely ceremonial position, with the government being run by the Prime Minister, who is elected by the Federal Assembly. Under the current constitution, the Indochinese presidents can be elected to a maximum of two five-year terms by the Federal Senate and retain wide discretion about how they exercise their official duties. The president, by his or her actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, legitimacy, and unity. The president enjoys higher ranking at official functions than the Prime Minister, who runs the government of the day. The president's role is integrative and includes the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. It is a matter of political tradition – not legal restrictions – that the president is an apolitical figure and generally does not comment routinely on issues in the news, particularly when there is some controversy among the political parties. This distance from day-to-day politics and daily governmental issues allows the president to be a source of clarification, to influence public debate, voice criticism, offer suggestions and make proposals. In order to exercise this power, he or she traditionally act above party politics.

The Worker's Party of Indochina had dominated Indochinese politics since the country's founding, and have controlled all presidencies since. 8 out of 10 presidents have been Vietnamese. The current officeholder is Thongloun Sisoulith from Laos, who was elected in 2021 by the Federal Senate.

List of Presidents

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of Office		Political Party
			Took office	Left office
Chairman of the Joint Consultative Council of the Democratic Republics of Laos, Kampuchea and Vietnam Chủ tịch Hội đồng Hiệp thương liên tịch các Quốc gia Cộng hòa Dân chủ Lào, Khao Mên và Việt Nam
1		Hồ Chí Minh (1890–1979)	2 September 1945	22 July 1955	Worker's Party
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Democratic Republics of Indochina Chủ tịch Đoàn chủ tịch Sô viết Tối cao Liên minh các Quốc gia Cộng hoà Dân chủ Đông Dương
(1)		Hồ Chí Minh (1890–1979) as State Elder of Indochina Đông-dương Quốc-phụ/Cha già dân tộc	22 July 1955	2 September 1979 died in office	Worker's Party
-		Nguyễn Xiển (1907–1997)	2 September 1979	8 October 1980	Democratic Party (then-satellite of Worker's Party)
Chairman of the Federal Council of State of the Federal Republic of Indochina Chủ tịch Hội đồng Nhà nước liên bang Cộng hoà Liên bang Đông Dương
2		Phạm Văn Đồng (1906–2000)	8 October 1980	18 June 1987	Worker's Party
3		Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992)	18 June 1987	22 September 1992 died in office	Worker's Party
Federal State President of the Federal Republic of Indochina Chủ tịch nhà nước liên bang Cộng hoà Liên bang Đông Dương/Tổng thống Đông Dương
4		Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1910–1996)	23 September 1992	24 September 1996 died in office	Worker's Party
5		Trần Đức Lương (1937–)	24 September 1996	27 June 2006	Worker's Party
6		Nguyễn Minh Triết (1942–)	27 June 2006	25 July 2011	Worker's Party
7		Trương Tấn Sang (1949–)	25 July 2011	2 April 2016	Worker's Party
8		Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (1959–)	2 April 2016	1 December 2018	Worker's Party
9		Nguyễn Phú Trọng (1944–)	1 December 2018	5 April 2021	Worker's Party
10		Thongloun Sisoulith (1945–)	5 April 2021	Incumbent	Worker's Party