Research’s objectives: It is to determine three typical qualities forming communal leadership in mountainous areas; the relationship between these qualities and local leadership socio-economic development; making recommendations on assessing, selecting and enhancing capability of communal authorities in mountainous areas. | 1 ABSTRACT 1. Necessity and importance of the research The apparatus of leadership or management officials is extremely necessary for any countries or local governments. Managers can be postulated, but leaders must be elected (Surinder, S., August 2012). Therefore, leaders are required to have independent thinking to make wiser crucial decisions (IQ); ability to enhance people’s valuable qualities, characteristics and strengths to gain their trust, respect as well as consensus and to build up close relationships (EQ); and consummate skills in communicating, training, encouraging, affecting, negotiating, selecting, prioritizing and leading (XQ). In Vietnam, communal authorities including communal People’s councils and People’s committees are the lowest leadership elected by local residents. They are in charge of directly carrying out policies of the Government and State and solving social problems. Therefore, the leadership of communal officials plays a critically important role. Son La is a northwestern mountainous province of Vietnam with 1 city and 11 districts consisting of 204 communes, wards and towns. In recent years, Son La has achieved encouraging economic development; In 2016, economic growth rate (GRDP) increases to 7,32%.; local revenue reached VND 4,006 billion (People’s Committee of Son La, 2016). These changes are attributable to authority’s effort, especially communal official’s. However, communal leadership in Son La has not been adequate to current requirement and missions yet. To quickly and firmly reach the socioeconomic development target, mountainous areas in general and Son La in particular desperately need scientific rationale and practical solutions to enhance the leadership. Notwithstanding, till now, there has not been specialized research on communal leadership in mountainous areas and its influences on socio-economic development. Therefore, the ignored thesis “The leadership in mountainous area” is crucially necessary for our country in
