To Lam takes over as Vietnam’s top leader

Vietnam’s newly appointed president has assumed the duties of Communist Party chief after General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who has held the position for 13 years, stepped back for health reasons, state media said Thursday.

To Lam, 67, was named president in May. As acting general secretary, he is now Vietnam’s top leader and will oversee the work of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

He’s now in position to direct preparations for the Communist Party’s 14th National Congress, scheduled for January 2026, according to Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University.

After several years of high-level political infighting – and some noteworthy resignations – his leadership could provide some stability for the next 17 months, Abuza said

RELATED STORIES

Putin visits Vietnam, aiming to renew Cold War ties

To Lam takes office as Vietnam's president

Vietnam leadership battle heats up after serial sacking narrow the field

“He will be in a very strong position to become general secretary at the 14th Congress, though he would require an age waiver,” he said.

“But we have to consider that the Central Committee, which is much more powerful than in China, could want to clean the field, and elect a vastly new politburo and general secretary.”

‘Breathing space’

In his previous role as minister of public security, Lam played a leading role in a sweeping anti-corruption campaign, seen by critics as a political tool for factions in the Communist Party to eliminate competitors. 

In 2021, after laying a wreath at the grave of Karl Marx while on a trip to London, he was filmed eating $2,000 gold-encrusted steaks at a restaurant. Lam has gone after people who publicly mocked him with a vengeance.

Trong, who also served as president from October 2018 to April 2021, was chosen to serve a rule-breaking third five-year term as party secretary in 2021. His term will expire in 2026 when the 14th Congress meets, and he could recommend a successor. 

Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, 65, are the only two candidates eligible to succeed him.  

The decision to hand over Trong’s secretary general duties to a caretaker was “prudent” and was being handled under normal Politburo regulations, according to Carl Thayer, emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

“There will be no major disruption in domestic and foreign policies,” he said. 

“It provides a breathing space of nearly 18 months to prepare for the 14th national party congress,” Thayer said. “This is plenty of time for an orderly process of consensus-building on the new leadership.”

Rumors of ill health

Trong, 80, is receiving treatment for an unspecified medical condition, VNExpress reported on Thursday.

He was seen in public on June 20 when he received Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hanoi.

“The Politburo, the Secretariat, key leaders and the Standing Member of the Secretariat have directed specialized agencies to focus on mobilizing a team of professors, doctors, medical staff, leading experts and the most favorable conditions to treat and care for the general secretary’s health,” it said.

Speculation about Trong’s health on social media was sparked at the end of last year when he disappeared from the public eye after meeting Japanese Communist Party head Kazuo Shii in Hanoi on Dec. 26.

The following month, he failed to meet Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo on their official visits to Vietnam.

A brief appearance at the start of an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on Jan. 15 failed to assuage rumors of ill health.

Since then, there has been a major shakeup of the upper echelons of Vietnam’s Communist Party. Vo Van Thuong resigned as president in March and Vuong Dinh Hue stepped down as chairman of the National Assembly in May.

On May 20, Tran Thanh Man took office as National Assembly chairman with parliament swearing in To Lam as state president two days later.

Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.