In response to the requirements of building the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), strengthening national defence, and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation, building a contingent of cadres with political steadfastness and comprehensive qualifications and capabilities is a strategic breakthrough, providing a solid foundation for the Political Academy to continue affirming its position as a leading centre for political cadre training and professional development and for research in military social sciences and humanities within the VPA and across the country.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh always attached importance to the role of cadres and cadre work. He affirmed that “cadres are the root of all work”, and that “the success or failure of all work depends on whether cadres are good or bad”. Our Party has consistently identified cadre work as the “key of the key”, affirming this work’s decisive role in the leadership capacity and combativeness of party organisations and the efficiency of the political system.

Officer of the Academy receives the Special Prize at the Nationwide Excellent Reporter and Communicator Contest of 2026 (photo: qdnd.vn)

Within the VPA, cadres act as the core force directly responsible for organising, managing, commanding, and maintaining all activities of agencies and units, playing a key role in the overall quality and combat strength of the entire Military. Hence, building a strong contingent of cadres has always been a strategic and overarching issue throughout the building of a revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, modern VPA. Fully aware of this view, the Party Committee and Directorate of the Political Academy have always regarded the building of a contingent of cadres as a key task that directly determines the quality and effectiveness of education and training, scientific research, and ideological and theoretical struggle, providing a decisive foundation for fulfilling the Academy's missions, vision, and educational philosophy of being “pioneering, humanistic, exemplary, innovative, development-orientated”.

Accordingly, the Academy has grasped and strictly implemented the resolutions, directives, and conclusions of the Party and the Central Military Commission (CMC) on cadre work and the building of a contingent of cadres. The Academy Party Committee issued and effectively executed Resolution 35-NQ/ĐU, dated 18 June 2019, on “building a contingent of cadres at the Political Academy for the 2019 - 2030 period”. Based on this Resolution, the Academy Party Committee and party committees at all levels have well performed cadre planning work in tandem with the management, utilisation, and training of cadres, as well as the deployment of cadres to units for practical experience.

At present, the Academy's contingent of cadres is basically sufficient in number; they all possess political steadfastness and good moral qualities. Their qualifications and capabilities in leadership, command, and management, as well as their capacity to provide advice, direction, and guidance, and their pedagogical competence, scientific research capabilities, and digital skills have continued to improve, thus meeting the requirements of education and training, scientific research, and ideological and theoretical struggle in the new period. 75.5% of them hold postgraduate qualifications, while the figure for lecturers alone is 89.8%, including 33 associate professors and PhDs. This provides a solid foundation for building a pure and strong Academy Party Organisation and a smart, modern, and “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Academy.

Currently, the tasks of VPA building and Fatherland protection, together with breakthroughs in education and training development, innovation, digital transformation, scientific research, and ideological and theoretical struggle in the digital era are placing increasingly demanding requirements on the contingent of cadres. To meet those practical requirements, the Academy will focus on effectively implementing the following solutions.

First, strengthening leadership over the building of the contingent of cadres. The Academy will continue to thoroughly disseminate resolutions, directives, and regulations on cadre work by the Party and the CMC in conjunction with Directive 676-CT/QUTW, dated 20 June 2026, by the CMC Standing Board on enhancing leadership and direction to promote the cultural values of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new period, and the Politburo’s Directive 07-CT/TW, dated 13 July 2026, on “promoting the study and practice of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics, methodology, and lifestyle in the new stage of development”. It will regard the building of the contingent of cadres as a key, routine task of strategic significance to developing the Academy itself and fulfilling the task of cadre training and professional development for the Military and the country, thereby contributing to building a revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, modern VPA that is politically strong and capable of firmly protecting the Fatherland in the new situation. On that basis, it will continuously improve the leadership capacity and combativeness of party committees and party organisations, while enhancing the responsibility of party committee members and key cadres in leading and directing cadre work. It will proactively forecast situational developments, closely follow practical requirements, and accurately assess the current situation to determine appropriate and effective orientations, objectives, and focal points for building the contingent of cadres.

Political Commissar of the Academy addresses the refresher course for cadres in the 2026 - 2027 academic year

The Academy will step up inspection, supervision, and power control, and promptly rectify manifestations of parochialism, closed-mindedness, excessive deference, and irresponsibility to ensure that cadre work is objective, transparent, and conducted in accordance with established principles and procedures. Due attention will be paid to linking the development of the contingent of cadres with the building of pure, strong party organisations and an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Academy, thereby creating a foundation for the Academy to successfully fulfil its functions and tasks and make a worthy contribution to the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland.

Second, continuing to innovate and improve cadre planning, recruitment, and selection work. The Academy will carry out cadre planning in accordance with the prescribed principles and procedures, with cadres’ qualities, capabilities, prestige, and task performance being seen as the basis. It will conduct planning work for command and management cadres in conjunction with building a contingent of teachers and researchers in a “dynamic” and “open” manner, with “promotion and demotion”, appropriate to their specialities and capabilities, while linking assessment with training, development, rotation, and utilisation. This will ensure transparency and democracy and create comprehensive, sustainable development.

Coordination with agencies and units both within and outside the Academy will be maintained to select and recruit cadres from diverse sources and via different channels. Priority will be given to selecting outstanding graduates from the Academy, while consideration will be given to attracting cadres with qualifications, capabilities, and practical experience from agencies, units, and schools across the VPA, especially those with postgraduate qualifications. The Academy will proactively adjust and improve the structure of its contingent of cadres towards a balanced and reasonable distribution in terms of age, speciality, and educational qualifications, in accordance with rank ceilings, positions, and requirements for succession, continuity, and long-term development. Great value will be attached to developing a pool of young cadres for faculties and agencies, ensuring continuous, solid succession between generations, meeting the requirements of building and developing the Academy in the new period.

Third, renewing training, professional development, and standardisation, and comprehensively raising the quality of the contingent of cadres. The Academy will focus its leadership and direction on renewing the training and professional development of cadres in a fundamental, systematic, specialised, practical, modern fashion, closely linked to cadre planning and utilisation and the task requirements of each agency, faculty, and unit. It will closely combine formal training with professional development and knowledge update, place emphasis on standardising the contingent of cadres according to their positions, and create conditions for cadres to develop beyond the required standards to meet their increasingly high practical requirements. During the 2025 - 2030 tenure, over 77% of its cadres shall hold postgraduate qualifications, with PhD holders accounting for at least 30%.

The content of training and professional development will aim to build a contingent of cadres who are politically steadfast, exemplary in character, and equipped with sharp theoretical thinking and solid professional expertise; they must be capable of linking theory with practice, detecting and explaining new issues concerning Party building and party and political work, proactively updating new developments in military and defence affairs, military art, and Fatherland protection, identifying and combating erroneous, hostile views, mastering technology, and adapting to digital transformation and international integration. At the same time, importance will be attached to cultivating and promoting the “seven dares” spirit, a sense of responsibility, discipline, scientific working practices, the capacity for innovation, and the ability to handle complex issues arising from practice. Through these efforts, the Academy will build a contingent of cadres, experts, teachers, and scientists capable of contributing to theoretical development and providing scientific arguments for leaders and commanders, thereby improving the quality of education and training and scientific research, and meeting the requirements of building a modern VPA and firmly defending the Fatherland in the new era.

Rank promotion conference for officers of the Academy in 2026

Fourth, raising the quality of personnel management, assessment, and utilisation. Party committees and commands at all levels will strengthen the management of cadres, adhere to the delegation of authority in cadre work, link cadre management with party member management, and promote each cadre’s responsibility for self-management and self-development. The Academy will conduct cadre assessment and classification rigorously and substantively, take cadres’ task performance, political qualities, morality, capabilities, and prestige as the principal criteria, and overcome formalism, excessive deference, and evasion of responsibility in this work. Due attention will be paid to assessing the capacity for innovation, the spirit of daring to think, daring to act, and daring to take responsibility, and the ability to resolve new issues arising in practice. Assessment results will genuinely serve as a basis for decisions on the utilisation and appointment of cadres.

The Academy will consistently adhere to the motto of “right person, right job, right duty”, with a view to ensuring that cadres are appropriately employed so that they can maximise their capabilities and take full responsibility for their work. It will promote job rotation among cadres according to their task requirements, in order to create diverse environments for them to gain experience in different positions, improve their task performance in practice, and enhance their leadership, management, and capacity to handle complex issues. This will also help develop cadres’ innovative thinking, vision, and ability to adapt to digital transformation, the modernisation of education and training and scientific research, and new requirements arising from military and defence tasks and Fatherland protection.

Fifth, effectively implementing mechanisms and policies for the development of the contingent of cadres. The Academy will continue to study, improve, and comprehensively implement mechanisms and policies for cadres in a fair and transparent way, appropriate to the particularities of its pedagogical environment. Due regard will be paid to ensuring appropriate policies regarding housing, working and studying conditions, scientific research, health care, and the material and spiritual life of cadres, particularly key cadres, young cadres, and highly qualified cadres. Significance will be attached to building a democratic, united, disciplined, humane working environment and creating favourable conditions for cadres to fully develop their capabilities and strengths, promote innovation, and pursue their aspirations for advancement. The Academy will effectively carry out emulation and commendation activities, honour and replicate outstanding models, thereby creating motivation for cadres to continuously develop themselves and make greater contributions.

The building and development of the contingent of cadres is both a key solution and a strategic objective, providing a solid foundation for the Political Academy to continue affirming its position and prestige and making practical contributions to the cause of VPA building, national defence consolidation, and Fatherland protection in the new era.

Lt. Gen., Associate Prof. NGUYEN BA HUNG, PhD

Political Commissar of the Academy