Vietnam's reformist premier loses bid for top party post

Hanoi

REFORMIST Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was not among 200 Communist officials elected to the party's new central committee, ending his bid to move into one of the most influential roles in the country.

Mr Dung's name did not appear on a list of newly-elected central committee members after delegates to the congress voted on Tuesday, according to an official list distributed at the meeting. The congress had earlier approved his request to withdraw his nomination for the committee that will oversee the party's affairs until 2020, three party officials said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. Mr Dung is reaching the end of his maximum two terms as premier, and without a key post, his influence over Vietnam's economic and security policies is set to diminish.