Published September 21. 2018 06:18AM
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang has died. He was 61.
The official Vietnam News Agency says Quang died at the 108 Military Hospital in Hanoi on Friday due to a serious illness. It did not elaborate.
Quang hosted President Donald Trump during his first state visit to the communist country last year.
His last public appearance was at a Politburo meeting of the ruling Communist Party and a reception for a Chinese delegation on Wednesday.
Quang did not appear in public for more than a month last year, raising speculation about his health.
A career security officer, Quang was elected president in April 2016.
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2018, file photo, Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang meets with Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the Presidential Palace during the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi, Vietnam. Official media say Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang has died at age 61 due to illness on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. (Kham/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - In this March 23, 2018, file photo, Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang greets journalists as he waits for arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam. Official media say Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang has died at age 61 due to illness on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, Pool, File)