The 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam () was held in Ba Đình Hall, Hanoi from 19 to 22 April 2001. The congress occurs once every five years. A total of 1,168 delegates represented the party's 2,479,719 card-carrying members.
Preparations
Dismissals and reassignments
Planning for the 9th National Congress began in August 1999 at the 7th plenum of the 8th Central Committee. Preparatory work for the congress began at the 8th plenum of the 8th Central Committee "by assigning various organizational tasks to senior party officials." After the 8th plenum several officials lost their post because of either disciplinary cases, government reshuffling or reassignment within the party. These changes were implemented because of widespread criticism of the Communist Party of Vietnam's (CPV) tackling of corruption, and in order to strengthen the coherence of national policy and its implementation. A statement issued by the 8th plenum stated that Ngô Xuân Lộc, a Deputy Prime Minister, and Cao Sĩ Kiêm, a party official working in the economic sector, had been given disciplinary warnings. In addition, the 8th plenum recommended to dismiss Ngô Xuân Lộc as a Deputy Prime Minister because of implication in the Thanh Long amusement park scandal. Cao Sĩ Kiêm on the other hand was criticised for mismanaging loans that resulted in a sudden increase in bad debts.
In December, the National Assembly dismissed Ngô Xuân Lộc as Deputy Prime Ministers on the grounds of him being implicated in the Thanh Long scandal and for neglecting his duties. Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, a member of the 8th Politburo who held the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Governor of the State Bank, had to relinquish his position as State Bank governor to his deputy Lê Đức Thúy. He was later made First Deputy Prime Minister and became responsible for supervising the works of the three other deputy prime ministers. Late in January 2001, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly announced that Nguyễn Mạnh Cầm had left his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs so as to be able to concentrate on his duties as a deputy prime minister. Trương Đình Tuyển, the Minister of Trade, resigned and was succeeded by Vũ Khoan. Similar changes occurred within the party organization – for instance, Trương Tấn Sang, the Secretary of the Hồ Chí Minh City Party Committee, was reassigned to head the CPV's Central Economic Commission. Similar changes occurred with at least seven other party officials.
Lê Khả Phiêu's downfall
During 2000, Lê Khả Phiêu, the General Secretary of the 8th Central Committee, attempted to shore up support within the party for his reelection for a second term as general secretary. The 9th plenum of the 8th Central Committee (10–19 April) discussed draft proposals to strengthen the decision-making process at the top of the party. Three options were up for discussion; introducing direct elections of the Politburo Standing Committee by the Central Committee, to reestablish the Secretariat (abolished at the 8th National Congress), and the retention of the Politburo Standing Committee while at the same time reviving the Secretariat. After a visit to France, Lê Khả Phiêu reportedly tried to amend the state constitution and the CPV statutes to as to allow him to serve concurrently as general secretary and state president. His stewardship as general secretary was severely tested by rural unrest, the Asian financial crisis, and the continued influence of the Advisors to the Central Committee, most prominently among them being Đỗ Mười, Lê Khả Phiêu's predecessor as general secretary. Đỗ Mười still retained policy influence during Lê Khả Phiêu's term in office, and while he was no longer a member of the Politburo, he attended the meetings of the 8th Politburo. He was appointed the convenor of the 9th National Congress, a post which gave him considerable influence over congress proceedings. Anyway, Đỗ Mười together with Võ Văn Kiệt and Lê Đức Anh sent a joint letter to the 8th Central Committee which criticized Lê Khả Phiêu's leadership.