Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam

Political Bureau
Leadership
Status	Highest CPV body between Central Committee plenums
General Secretary	Nguyễn Phú Trọng
1st-ranked member	Nguyễn Phú Trọng
Elected by	Central Committee
Responsible to	Central Committee
Seats	19 (see 12th Politburo)

The Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Central Committee Communist Party of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Bộ Chính trị Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam), formerly the Standing Committee of the Central Committee from 1930 to 1951, is the highest body of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) between Central Committee meetings, which are held at least twice a year. According to Party rules, the Politburo directs the general orientation of the government and enacts policies which have been approved by either the National Party Congress or the Central Committee.

The members of the Politburo are elected (and given a ranking) by the Central Committee in the immediate aftermath of a National Party Congress. The current Politburo, the 12th, was elected by the Central Committee in the aftermath of the 12th National Congress and consists of 19 members. The first-ranked member is General Secretary of the Central Committee.

The Politburo is a subunit of the Central Committee, the supreme organ on party affairs. The members of the Central Committee, when the Party Congress has ended, freely elects the composition of the Politburo. The number of Politburo members is also decided by the Central Committee membership. Until 1990, there were two different forms of Politburo membership: full and alternate. When the Secretariat was abolished in 1996, a short-lived Politburo Standing Committee (also known as the Politburo Standing Board) was established. Unlike the Secretariat, the Politburo Standing Committee was appointed by the Politburo and not the Central Committee (although the two bodies had nearly-identical functions). The Politburo Standing Committee was abolished in 2001 at the 9th National Congress, and the Secretariat was reestablished. Elected members are given rankings in an order of precedence.