Vietnam has elected Luong Cuong, a military general, as its new president, the fourth official to fill the role in 18 months.

Vietnam's parliament elected on Monday army general Luong Cuong as the new state president in a widely anticipated move that is expected to bring some stability to Vietnamese politics after a turbulent phase of departures and reshuffles.

The National Assembly of Vietnam unanimously elected General Luong Cuong as the country's president. He is the fourth person to hold this position in the last 18 months. In Monday's vote, the general received the approval of all 440 deputies present at the parliamentary session.