Trần Thị Nguyệt Thu

Trần Thị Nguyệt Thu is the former Spouse of President of Vietnam (de facto First Lady) during her husband Nguyễn Xuân Phúc's presidency from April 2021 to January 2023, when he resigned amid a series of corruption scandals. She was previously the Spouse of the Prime Minister during her husband's premiership from 2016 to 2021. She is known for her elegant fashion style, often wearing the traditional Vietnamese dress áo dài,[2] and is occasionally dubbed the First Lady of Vietnam by the overseas Vietnamese press.[3][4]

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Trần. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Thu or Nguyệt Thu.
Madame[1]
Trần Thị Nguyệt Thu
Thu in 2020
Spouse of the President of Vietnam
In role
5 April 2021 – 18 January 2023
PresidentNguyễn Xuân Phúc
Preceded byNgô Thị Mân
Succeeded byPhan Thị Thanh Tâm
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Vietnam
In role
7 April 2016 – 5 April 2021
Prime MinisterNguyễn Xuân Phúc
Preceded byTrần Thanh Kiệm
Succeeded byLê Ngọc Bích Trân
Personal details
BornQuảng Nam Province, Vietnam
SpouseNguyễn Xuân Phúc
ChildrenNguyễn Thị Xuân Trang
Nguyễn Xuân Hiếu

Biography

Spouse of the Prime Minister and President
Madame Thu and then-Prime Minister Phúc receiving Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and First Lady Mariko Suga in Hanoi on October 19, 2020.
Madame Thu together with Mexican First Lady Angélica Rivera, Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan, and Argentine First Lady Juliana Awada at G20 Germany on July 2017

Since her husband's ascend to the premiership in 2016 and the presidency in 2021, Madame Thu has accompanied Mr. Phúc on various state visits and received many foreign dignitaries, including hosting first ladies and spouses of foreign heads of states.[5][6] She is known for her fashion style, often wearing the traditional Vietnamese dress áo dài and matching its color to the necktie of her husband, which has become an internet sensation in Vietnam.[7][8]

Family

Madame Thu has two children with Mr. Phúc. Their son, Nguyễn Xuân Hiếu, is currently the Chief of the Central Office of the Vietnamese Youth Union.[9] Their daughter, Nguyễn Thị Xuân Trang (born 1986), is a businesswoman and major shareholder of the Gateway International School in Hanoi.[10] Ms. Trang is married to Vũ Chí Hùng, who is currently the Deputy Director of the General Department of Taxation at the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam.[11]

Controversy

Thu has attracted controversy due to her alleged ties to the Việt Á scandal involving bribery and overpricing of COVID-19 test kit, which is partially responsible for her husband's resignation.[3][4][12] In his resignation address, former President Phúc denied any conspiracy theories insinuating that his wife was associated with the Việt Á scandal.[13][14]

"My family, my wife and children did not earn personal gains or commit corruption related to Viet A, and have never met Viet A director, and these have been clearly concluded by the Central Inspection Commission"

— Nguyễn Xuân Phúc,

Some dissident organizations have urged for her arrest, arguing that not prosecuting Thu would not reflect well on the anti-graft campaigns of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.[15] Others, like the Việt Nam Thời Báo, a dissident publication of the Independent Association of Vietnamese Journalists, disagreed and instead called on the Vietnam Women’s Union to protect the "dignity" of Thu, claiming that Thu was used as a scapegoat by the Central Propaganda Department of the Communist Party to discredit and force her husband into resignation.[16]

References
  1. "Madam Tran Thi Nguyet Thu and Mrs Linda Hurley in the gardens of Government House Sydney". Governor of New South Wales. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2023-01-03 – via Facebook.
  2. "BST áo dài Lan Hương ra mắt phu nhân nguyên thủ các nước tới Hà Nội". Báo Thế giới và Việt Nam (in Vietnamese). 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  3. Sơn, Trà (2022-07-19). "Có phải ông Nguyễn Xuân Phúc đang bị… 'thất sủng'?". Việt Nam Thời Báo. Video. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  4. Nguyễn, Lan; Lê, Hoàng; Sơn, Trà (2022-07-19). "Thời vàng son của Nguyễn Xuân Phúc đang chấm hết?". Thông Luận. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  5. "Thủ tướng Nguyễn Xuân Phúc đến Phi-líp-pin dự hội nghị cấp cao ASEAN 30". Quân Đội Nhân Dân (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  6. "Chủ tịch nước Nguyễn Xuân Phúc và Phu nhân hội kiến Nhà vua và Hoàng hậu Thái Lan". Báo Thanh Niên (in Vietnamese). 2022-11-20. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  7. "Phát hiện thú vị: Thủ tướng Nguyễn Xuân Phúc thường xuyên mặc tương đồng với phu nhân". Tạp chí điện tử Saostar.vn (in Vietnamese). 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  8. "Phát hiện thú vị: Thủ tướng Nguyễn Xuân Phúc thường xuyên mặc tương đồng với phu nhân". Việt Giải Trí (in Vietnamese). 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  9. "Nguyễn Xuân Phúc chính thức thay Nguyễn Tấn Dũng làm thủ tướng". Nguoi Viet Daily News. 2017-06-09. Archived from the original on 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  10. Minh, Khôi (2019-08-07). "Trường quốc tế Gateway trong hệ sinh thái giáo dục "khổng lồ"". Dân Việt (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  11. "Bổ nhiệm ông Vũ Chí Hùng lên chức Phó Tổng cục trưởng Tổng cục Thuế". VietNamNet. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  12. "Ông Phúc rớt đài là do vợ và người thân dính đến vụ Việt Á?". VOA (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  13. Viet Tuan. "Former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc formally hands over work". VnExpress International. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  14. "Ông Nguyễn Xuân Phúc: "Vợ và các con tôi không tư lợi, tham nhũng liên quan đến Việt Á!"". Radio Free Asia (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  15. "Hậu ngã ngựa là chấn thương, liệu bà Trần Thị Nguyệt Thu có xộ khám không?". Thời báo (in Vietnamese). 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  16. Ngoc, Linh Lan (2023-01-25). "VNTB – Hội liên hiệp phụ nữ Việt Nam cần lên tiếng bảo vệ hội viên". Viet Nam Thoi Bao. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
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