Hanoi: Vietnam’s National Assembly on Wednesday morning approved To Lam, the minister of public security to serve as the country’s next President following a vote at its headquarters in Hanoi.
The appointment comes nearly two months after Vietnam’s former President Vo Van Thuong resigned amid a corruption crackdown. Lam has become the third president in Vietnam in less than 18 months, in a country that has a reputation for its stable politics.
Lam, the third most powerful man in Vietnam besides the party chief and prime minister, is viewed as a hardliner when it comes to dealings with Vietnamese activists. Numerous dissidents and bloggers were jailed during his tenure as Minister of Public Security.
Lam was handed the public security portfolio in 2016. One year after his appointment, Vietnam’s security agency allegedly kidnapped a Vietnamese businessman, Trinh Xuan Thanh, in Germany and brought him to Vietnam. (DPA)
