HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s National Assembly on Wednesday elected its police minister To Lam as the country’s new president, the biggest change so far in a major leadership reshuffle after an unusual spell of political turbulence in the one-party state.
Lam, 66, was elected at the rubber-stamp parliament following his nomination last week by a top committee of the ruling Communist Party.
Lam vowed after the vote he would be loyal to the nation, the state and the people, adding that “I will try my best to fulfil all the tasks assigned.”
He has been head of the police-run ministry of public security since 2016, and in 2021 was admitted to the party’s Politburo, the most powerful decision-making body in Vietnam.
Lam has been a crucial figure in the sweeping anti-graft campaign, known as “blazing furnace”, which is aimed at rooting out widespread corruption but has been seen also by critics as a tool to sideline opponents during political infighting.
The president holds a largely ceremonial role but is one of the country’s top four political positions, the so-called “four pillars”. The others are the party chief, prime minister and parliament speaker.
The shake-up has since March seen the exit of three of Vietnam’s top five leaders, after the house speaker, the president and a top politburo member resigned due to unspecified “wrongdoings”.
The moves have added to jitters among foreign firms about political infighting in the investment-reliant country, once seen as a beacon of stability in a region susceptible to policy shifts from changes in governments.
Lam was the second new addition to the leadership after Tran Thanh Man, 61, was elected the new chairman of the legislature on Monday.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Martin Petty)
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