Vietnam’s Communist Party names To Lam as top leader, following Nguyen Phu Trong’s death

Lam took over the duties of party chief on July 18, a day before Trong’s death, as his health was deteriorating.

It was unclear if Lam would continue to serve as president simultaneously or relinquish that role.

In his first remarks as general secretary, Lam said his promotion resulted from “an urgent need to ensure the leadership of the party”.

“This is a huge honour with glorious responsibility before the party and the people,” he added.

It was unclear if Lam will carry out his role as president simultaneously or whether he will step down.

The nomination comes two weeks after the death of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s most powerful leader in decades.

He died in the capital Hanoi “due to old age and serious illness” and Lam was informally handed the reins of power.

Lam’s formal succession to the top job follows a long career within the secretive public security ministry, which deals with the monitoring of dissent and surveillance of activists in Vietnam, a one-party state.

He was elected president in May after leading a sweeping campaign of high-profile investigations against corruption as police minister. He replaced Vo Van Thuong, who had been in the job about a year when he quit amid accusations of unspecified wrongdoing.

Additional reporting by Reuters