Vietnam appoints President To Lam as Communist party chief

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Vietnam’s ruling Communist party has appointed President To Lam as its general secretary, the country’s most powerful position, to succeed longtime chief Nguyen Phu Trong, who died two weeks ago.

Lam, a former public security minister, was elected unanimously by the party’s central committee on Saturday, a government newspaper reported. He ascended to the role of president just two months ago. It remains unclear whether he will hold both positions.

Lam’s appointment comes at a crucial time for Vietnam, which has become a regional manufacturing powerhouse as companies rush to diversify from China amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

However, concerns about Vietnam’s ability to attract more investment have grown in recent months as a sweeping corruption crackdown — which Lam oversaw as minister — has triggered bureaucratic paralysis and rare political instability in the one-party state.  

Following his appointment, Lam told party’s delegates that he would continue to pursue the fight against corruption “without any exceptions”, state media reported. The crackdown has achieved positive results, he said. 

Lam, 67, also vowed to maintain Vietnam’s foreign policy, saying he would “inherit and promote” the legacy of Trong, who held Vietnam’s top position for 13 years until his death in July.

Trong was the architect of the anti-corruption crackdown, and shaped Vietnam’s independent foreign policy, which deftly balanced Hanoi’s ties with major powers.

The appointment caps a meteoric rise for Lam, a former police officer. He became president in late May following his predecessor’s resignation due to unspecified “violations and shortcomings” amid corruption investigations.

The crackdown has seen a dramatic reshuffle of the country’s top ranks and the arrests of hundreds of government officials. Two presidents have resigned since January 2023, and a real estate tycoon was sentenced to death for her role in a $12bn fraud. Critics say the corruption crackdown has also ensnared government critics and political rivals. 

Lam was seen as Trong’s right-hand man in implementing the graft crackdown, but he has also been criticised for lavish spending. In 2021, a video was posted of him eating a gold leaf-covered steak at an upscale London restaurant run by the celebrity chef Nusret Gökçe, popularly known as Salt Bae. The video prompted controversy in Vietnam and was eventually taken down by the chef.

Lam’s ministry has also been leading the charge on arrests of government critics and rights activists, and his elevation to the top job is likely to stir further concerns over civic freedoms in the communist state.

Holding two posts simultaneously as party chief and president would raise additional concerns about power consolidation, analysts have said. Vietnam has a four-person collective leadership, which includes the Communist party chief, president, prime minister and National Assembly chair.