Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang died Friday at the age of 61 after a “serious illness,” the government announced.
He died at the Central Military Hospital in Hanoi.
Quang was appointed to the presidency in April 2016, becoming one of Vietnam’s top three leaders, though his post was mainly ceremonial, according to Reuters.
The president had recently appeared thin and pale and was unstable on his feet last week during a welcoming ceremony for his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, according to AFP.