From 1969 to 1971, Trương Tấn Sang was Party Committee member, secretary of Youth Union, in charge of the secret guerrilla group in Đức Hòa District in Long An Province.

[citation needed] In 2003, he was reprimanded for failing to act in the Năm Cam corruption scandal when he headed the city government.

[2] His authority soon eclipsed that of General Secretary Nông Đức Mạnh, the only person nominally above Sang in the party hierarchy, according to a leaked diplomatic cable by U.S.

At diplomatic meetings, Sang could "comment authoritatively, in detail and without notes," whereas Mạnh "appeared disengaged" while he read a 30-minute prepared statement "verbatim and in a monotone.

[11] Nguyễn Phú Trọng, a northerner, was appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam at 11th National Congress held in Hanoi in January 2011.

[14] The National Assembly of Vietnam elected Trương Tấn Sang as state president on 25 July 2011 with 97.4 percent of the vote.

Sang told the Assembly that he would defend Vietnam's independence and territorial integrity, and would resolve the Spratly Islands dispute with China peacefully.

[15] As the new president, he will work to set a foundation that will allow Vietnam to become an industrialized and modernized country by 2020, Sang told the Assembly.

[14] On 25 July 2013, Trương Tấn Sang met with US President Barack Obama to discuss bilateral trade between the U.S. and Vietnam.

[17] Trương Tấn Sang is married to Mai Thị Hạnh (born 1956),[18] who served ceremonial functions as the First Lady of Vietnam.