On November 11, 1960, a failed coup attempt against President Ng nh Dim of South Vietnam was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vng Vn ng and Colonel Nguyn Chnh Thi of the Airborne Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

The rebels launched the coup in response to Dim's autocratic rule and the negative political influence of his brother Ng nh Nhu and sister-in-law Madame Nhu. They also bemoaned the politicisation of the military, whereby regime loyalists who were members of the Ng family's covert Cn Lao Party were readily promoted ahead of more competent officers who were not insiders. ng was supported in the conspiracy by his brother-in-law Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Trieu Hong, whose uncle was a prominent official in a minor opposition party. The main link in the coup was ng's commanding officer Thi, whom he persuaded to join the plot.

The coup caught the Ng family completely off-guard, but was also chaotically executed. The plotters neglected to seal the roads leading into the capital Saigon to seal off loyalist reinforcements, and they hesitated after gaining the initiative. After initially being trapped inside the Independence Palace, Dim stalled the coup by holding negotiations and promising reforms, such as the inclusion of military officers in the administration. In the meantime, opposition politicians joined the fray, trying to exploit Dim's position. However, the president's real aim was to buy time for loyalist forces to enter the capital and relieve him. The coup failed when the 5th and 7th Divisions of the ARVN entered Saigon and defeated the rebels. More than four hundred peoplemany of whom were civilian spectatorswere killed in the ensuing battle. These included a group of anti-Dim civilians who charged across the palace walls at Thi's urging and were cut down by loyalist gunfire.

ng and Thi fled to Cambodia, while Dim berated the United States for a perceived lack of support during the crisis. Afterwards, Dim ordered a crackdown, imprisoning numerous anti-government critics and former cabinet ministers. Those that assisted Dim were duly promoted, while those that did not were demoted. A trial for those implicated in the plot was held in 1963. Seven officers and two civilians were sentenced to death in absentia, while 14 officers and 34 civilians were jailed. Dim's regime also accused the Americans of sending Central Intelligence Agency members to assist the failed plot. When Dim was assassinated after a 1963 coup, those jailed after the 1960 revolt were released by the new military junta.

The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chủ tịch nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, lit. Chairman of the state) is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the Vietnam National Assembly from delegates of the National Assembly. Since Vietnam is a single-party state, the president is generally considered to hold the second highest position in the political system, after the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In addition, the president appoints the head of government, the Prime Minister. As head of state, the President represents Vietnam both domestically and internationally, and maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government and safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of the country.

The president must be a delegate of the National Assembly and is traditionally a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Central Committee of the Communist Party nominates candidates to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly then confirms and nominates those candidates for official election by all delegates of the National Assembly.

The president appoints the vice president, prime minister, ministers, and other officials with the consent of the National Assembly. The president is furthermore the supreme commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces, chairman of the Council for Defense and Security. Moreover, member of Political Bureau, standing member of the Central Military Commission and the Central Police Party Committee. Since September 2011, the president is also the head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform. The tenure of the president is five years, and a president can only serve three terms. If the president becomes unable to discharge duties of office, the vice president assumes the office of acting president until the president resumes duty, or until the election of a new president.

The powers and prestige of the office of president have varied over the years. For instance, while the inaugural president, Hồ Chí Minh, was also the chairman of the Communist Party, making him (in that capacity) the first ranking member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, his successor, Tôn Đức Thắng, served as a symbolic figure along with General Secretary Lê Duẩn. Since Trường Chinh's ascension to the presidency, the president has been ranked 1st (he was sometimes also chairman of the party) or 2nd in the order of precedence of the Communist Party's Politburo except President Nguyễn Minh Triết ranked fourth and President Võ Chí Công ranked third.

The current president is Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, who was elected by the National Assembly in April 2021. Nguyễn Phú Trọng is the third person to concurrently serve as head of the Party and State, with the other two people to have done so being Hồ Chí Minh and Trường Chinh.