To Lam has been public security minister since 2016 and takes a hard line against human rights movements in the country.
Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party has named the public security minister as the next president, state media reported, months after his predecessor resigned as part of an anti-corruption move.
On Saturday, the party’s Central Committee selected To Lam, 66, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Lam has been public security minister since 2016 and has taken a hard line against human rights movements in the country.
In March, President Vo Van Thuong resigned after just over a year in office due to “violations” and “deficiencies,” the party said.
Thuong was the second president to resign in two years amid a crackdown on corruption that saw several senior politicians fired and senior business leaders charged with fraud and corruption.
When he took office, Thuong said he was “determined to fight corruption” and was believed to be close to party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong – considered the country’s most powerful figure.
Thousands of people, including top officials and senior business leaders, have been caught up in the country’s “blazing” anti-corruption campaign, which has gripped the highest echelons of Vietnamese politics and is led by Trong.
“Violations and Defects”
According to state media, 61-year-old Tran Thanh Man was also named the new head of Vietnam’s National Assembly, becoming one of Vietnam’s four most powerful leaders.
They succeed Vuong Dinh Hue, who asked to resign last month due to “violations and deficiencies”.
The nominations were approved by the party’s central committee but will be formally voted on by the National Assembly, which is scheduled to meet next week.
All top leadership “must be truly united, truly exemplary, wholehearted and committed to the common cause,” the Central Committee said.
In April, a court in Vietnam sentenced a real estate tycoon to death for her role in a $12.5 billion financial fraud case, the largest in the country’s history.
Truong My Lan, chairman of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery and violating banking rules at the end of a trial in Ho Chi Minh City.
Lan’s arrest in October 2022 was among the most high-profile of the ongoing anti-corruption campaign that began in 2016 and has been gaining momentum since 2022.