Vietnam's leader To Lam strengthens power in unanimous assembly vote

Vietnam's communist-dominated general assembly has elected To Lam, the party leader, to be the country's president and head of state, an unusual concentration of power in one person.

He was elected unanimously by the 500 seat assembly which started sitting on Monday, following the Communist Party Congress in January, which makes all the big decisions about the country's future direction.

This makes To Lam the most powerful leader in Vietnam in recent decades.

To Lam rose over the last decade by serving as the powerful Minister for Public Security, enforcing a nationwide anti-corruption drive which saw many of his potential rivals disgraced and purged.

In 2024, he took over the jobs of both general secretary of the communist party and president temporarily, after the resignation of then-president Vo Van Thuong and the death of party boss Nguyen Phu Trong.

There is reported to be opposition, especially within the military, to To Lam keeping these two top jobs after the party congress.

The Communist Party of Vietnam has always preferred collective leadership shared among the four most senior national positions, now expanded to five, known as the "five pillars".

However, To Lam has now secured enough backing to take the two top jobs for the next five years, inviting comparisons with China, where President Xi Jinping has also concentrated power in his hands.

Xi congratulated To Lam in January, when he successfully retained his job as secretary general of Vietnam's communist party.

Xi said at the time that he would work with To Lam to "carry forward the traditional friendship" between the two socialist neighbours.

There is historical anti-Chinese sentiment expressed by the Vietnamese population, but relations between the two communist parties are close.

Compared to China, however, the communist party's central committee plays a stronger role in checking the power of its secretary general, Carl Thayer, Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales, told the BBC.

"To Lam is the first among equals, but he's also answerable to the Politburo," he said, pointing to other senior figures in the 19-member committee.

"There's still a balance. But To Lam has shown that he can work collectively and build coalitions," he added.

The real test of To Lam's leadership, though, will be whether he can meet the breathtakingly ambitious growth targets he has set his government, at a time when the global economic outlook is so unsettled.

To Lam has already announced a programme of sweeping reforms to help Vietnam reach the goal of being an upper income country within the next two decades.

He has set a target of keeping annual economic growth at more than 10%, and containing corruption, building on the "blazing furnace" campaign started by his predecessor that has disciplined and dismissed tens of thousands of officials.

Additional reporting by Thuong Le in Bangkok