Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang passed away Friday following an illness.

Local media including the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported that Quang died at 10:05 a.m. in a military hospital in Hanoi at the age of 61. 

Reports say he had been suffering from a serious illness for several months and had received medical treatment abroad and in Vietnam.

He has been absent from public events in the past months. 

Quang was appointed to the presidency in April 2016.

Experts say the role of president in Vietnam is largely ceremonial.