Portraits of the 6 religious leaders elected as representatives to the 16th National Assembly

1. Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem (secular name Dang Minh Chau) - Vice Chairman of the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Association, Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Hanoi City; Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; Member of the Advisory Council on Religion; Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Peace Committee (elected in electoral unit No. 6, Hanoi City).

2. Father Nguyen Van Rien - Vice President, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee of Ho Chi Minh City; Priest, Parish Priest of Saint Joseph, Phu Cuong Diocese; Non-executive Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (elected in electoral unit No. 2, Ho Chi Minh City).

3. Venerable Ly Minh Duc (secular name Ly Duc) - Standing Member of the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Association, Deputy Head of the Inspection Committee, Standing Member of the Central Sangha Affairs Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Association; Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Can Tho City; Monk, Abbot of Som Rong Pagoda (elected in electoral unit No. 6, Can Tho City).

4. Venerable Thich Duc Thien (secular name Nguyen Tien Thien) - Buddhist religion, Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; Head of the International Buddhist Affairs Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha; Chairman of the Asian Buddhist Committee for Peace in Vietnam; Head of the Executive Board of the Buddhist Association of Dien Bien Province (elected in electoral unit No. 1, Dien Bien Province).

5. Father Le Nguyen Thao - Chief of the Office of the Bishop of Phan Thiet, Lam Dong province, (elected in electoral unit No. 5, Lam Dong province).

6. Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet (secular name Luong Cong Quyet) - Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Association; Head of the Central Committee for Buddhist Education; Director of the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Hanoi; Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Quang Ninh Province (elected in electoral unit No. 1, Quang Ninh Province).

In addition, the 16^th National Assembly also acknowledged the participation of delegates who are followers of various religions such as: Mr. Thach Phuoc Binh, Deputy Head of the Standing Delegation of the National Assembly of Vinh Long Province, 15^th term (Buddhism); Ms. Cil Bri, Deputy Director of the Department of Ethnic and Religions of Lam Dong Province (Catholic); Ms. Dang Thi My Huong, Deputy Head of the Standing Delegation of the 15^th National Assembly of Khanh Hoa Province (Brahman); Ms. Pham Huynh Thanh Van, An Giang University (Catholic).

This result shows that the representative structure is becoming increasingly diverse, ensuring the right of representation for all segments of the population. Specially, many religious delegates in this term possess high educational qualifications, such as: Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet, both holding PhDs in Philosophy; Venerable Thich Duc Thien, holding a PhD in Buddhist research, Father Le Nguyen Thao, who holds a university degree in English and a Master’s degree in Moral Theology, promising to make significant contributions to the process of lawmaking, especially policies related to freedom of belief and religion and national unity.

Among the delegates who are religious leaders, many have been re-elected through previous terms in the National Assembly, such as: Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem was a member of the National Assembly in the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th terms; Father Nguyen Van Rien was a member of the National Assembly in the 14th and 15th terms; Venerable Ly Minh Duc was a delegate for the 14^th and 15^th terms; Venerable Thich Duc Thien was a delegate for the 15^th term; Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet was a delegate for the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th terms./.