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Vietnam's National Assembly has elected the police chief to be the country's new president, the second-highest post in the country.

Public Security Minister Tran Dai Quang, 59, took the oath of office Saturday after the vote. He was widely expected to become president after being re-elected to the Politburo, the powerful 19-member committee that effectively rules the country, at the Communist Party Congress in January.

At that January meeting, Nguyen Phu Trong was re-elected to the top post of party general secretary.

In Vietnam, the president is the head of state and chief commander of the military, while the prime minister — to be chosen next week — oversees the economy.